


Forgotten Soulmates

by miss12tapwew



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Multi, Original Character(s), Other, Polyamory, Porn With Plot, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, f/m - Freeform, m/f/m
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:49:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 48,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29722350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss12tapwew/pseuds/miss12tapwew
Summary: Stena of Iberia is a warrior in her own right. Ancient, formidable, and far preceding the assemblage of the Avengers.But they don't know that.So when she finally pops up on their radar they assume, understandably, that she's just another new byproduct of a Hydra experimentation. Not a tired woman who's simply sick of being so careful.When they finally move in on this new "enhanced," they find she doesn't quite fit the mold. In fact, they find they've opened a whole other door with her.A door that leads to a potential new ally for the Avengers, and a new romance for the Captain, and God of Thunder, as they each find an unexpected soulmate they thought they'd lost long ago.Someone they were forced to forget.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Thor, Thor Odinson/ original character, Thor/Captian America, captain America/ original character, steve rogers/ original female character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. When In Rome

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline wise, this falls pre Civil War. 
> 
> There'll be some small incongruencies. Like how I made Thors hair shorter like Ragnarok, but otherwise it'll be pretty accurate to both timeline and character personalities. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

Tony powered down the luxury model as he parked across the street. It was a little ostentatious compared to his surroundings, looking out the passenger window at their pre-approved meeting spot. A small, secluded restaurant in a middle to lower class part of Rome, it looked to be barely standing, and probably barely kept alive by the locals, let alone any tourists in flashy cars.

' _Ya, just a little ostentatious.'_

He was still a little leery at being talked into letting her choose it, sure it would make her feel more comfortable, but he didn't necessarily like the concept of a powerful unknown in it's element. Sighing at yet another lost battle with these heathens, he placed a hand to his comm to make sure everyone knew he was in place.

"Alright Kiddos.. Let's get it popping." 

With that he stepped out. The car beeping behind him as he walked through the soft light being cast by a sparse collection of street lamps.  
The expensive material of his grey suit jacket fluttering against a slight breeze as he closed in on the little restaurant she had selected.He could see why she had chosen it. The seclusion meant low foot traffic, and therefore, fewer customers to have to worry about -they could easily go unnoticed. Despite it's rundown look, it also had a certain old world charm to it, and since there were definitely other spots nearby that could have been even better choices for their clandestine meeting, he came to the conclusion that personal influence may have affected her choice, and probably more than she'd like to let on. Putting that nugget of information in his back pocket, he breezed through the front gates of the patio. Unbuttoning his jacket as he raised a hand to suppress an approaching waiter, having spotted the woman sitting near the end of the patio, he wouldn't have any trouble finding his seat.

Her long neck was turned away from him as she looked out to the street. One hand resting on the table while it swirled a glass of red wine, the other tapping calmly against her wrist. She was a cool image. Dressed simply, yet elegant, her dark hair pinned back into a sleek, low bun, that showed off the simple pearl studs clinging to her ears above her bare neck. Collar bones peaking out of a pale mint chiffon blouse, and a creamy linen jacket that matched her culottes draped over her shoulders. What bit of her face that was visible, was just like every other image he’d seen of her so far, stoic, and unmoving. Like a slab of impossibly large marble before the sculptures had managed to make it more, pliable.. He scrutinized further, looking for what he knew to be very dark eyes hiding behind a stylish pair of tortoise rimmed sunglasses, concealing what little expression she even could give off.

 _‘How very Italia.'_ He mused, passing one other occupied table nearer the front as he checked his watch, ironically enough, also Italian. Nine fifteen. His sunglasses providing additional snippets of information as he grew nearer to their target.

Target _. Was that right?_

He recalled an earlier conversation that had her defined as more of a mission objective. The objective being, get her enhanced ass back to Stark tower so they could see what they were dealing with, and avoid another looming threat of unknown proportions.However, if she didn't want to come, how willing were they to let her just walk away?

"And at what point then, does she go from an objective, to a target Tony?" Roger's earlier words ringing in his ears as he pondered on it once more.

"Well, Boy Scout. When she decides to make herself one." He had snapped back.

Deep down he knew the Captain was right. They couldn't just go around kidnapping people and making them work for them, that was more of a Hydra recruitment tactic. But he also didn't like the idea of enhanced beings getting to wander around freely, potentially blowing stuff up, and just sort of causing mass chaos in general. His mind flashed to the memory of her footage. A literal explosion in some town in the Middle East -and of fairly massive proportions- that somehow left no bomb casings, no detonator, and every bad guy dead. Yet she and the civilians at its centre, miraculously unharmed. He thought again of the risk of letting someone like that be recruited by those aforementioned bad guys, and the reasons for not letting her walk away just kept multiplying as far as he was concerned. There was enough going on in the universe, they didn't need to keep fighting unnecessary fires on the home front. 

_'Target does have certain messy connotations.'_ He admitted, snapping back to the present as his steps continued in her direction. It probably would be better to do as they had all discussed, and go into this with a little more of an open mind, and optimism than they usually would. 

' _Cautious, optimism.'_ He amended as he arrived at her table, finally earning an acknowledgment as she tore her eyes away from that exciting, empty street to look up. If she were even the slightest bit intimidated, or nervous, she certainly didn't show it. And a nervous smirk tried to move his lips as he thought of the gravity of that, but she seemed to take it more as a show of sass, taking off her dark frames to show him a slightly disapproving look. And though she looked flawless, through her narrowed eyes, he thought he could detect a tiredness too. Something in the way she seemed to internally sigh at his every movement.. 

"Ms. Ibérica?"

"Mm, Mr. Stark." His name rolled of her tongue rather seductively, and he noted the Mainland accent as he wondered how manufactured versus inherent it all was.

"I'll start by expressing how appreciative we are that you accepted our invitation.." Pulling out a chair as he took his seat across from her.

"I think you mean to say.." she cut in, "how appreciative you are that I accepted your invitation, without causing any difficulty for you and your teammates. Whom I have no doubt, are nearby." He tilted his head as he tried to suppress the contortion on his face, but midway, opted against it. Instead, removing his own glasses to meet her dark, searching eyes.

"Yes, Ms. Ibérica, that is what I meant. But I like this direct approach of yours, putting it all out there, cutting the bull.. so let's do this thing." She raised an amused eyebrow as his personality won out. Not that she had expected their conversation to go any other way, Tony Stark was never anything other than exactly himself, so she hadn't been expecting anything too professional. And she leaned forward to cross both arms on the table in front of her.

"Let's then.."

....................

The team waited at their respective posts, spread out at various points down the street from, and around the restaurant. Comms buzzing in each of their ears as Tony checked his before getting out of his car.

_"Alright kiddos," his sarcastic tone rang out, " let's get it popping."_

The Captain rolled his eyes internally. Of all the things he had to get used to after coming out of the ice, Tony's attitude was probably the most difficult. Even with his experience with Howard. Tony had insisted on being the one to approach her, claiming something to do with knowing which fork to use, but Rogers knew it had more to do with being the first man in on this 'exciting new territory,' as he had so delicately put it. ' _Ever the pioneer, hey Stark..'_ He decided to let a small sigh out instead of something more scathing.

"Okay team, we all know why we're here, but don't think that means we know what to expect.."

"We've handled an enhanced before you know." Clint started, probably nudging Wanda next to him at the next bit. "Once or twice."

"That may be," Rogers replied, "but we know what happens when we underestimate those enhanced too." Sure that Wanda was smirking at least a little at that, though Banner probably wasn't from his place in the quinjet. "So I'll say it again. We don't know what to expect, and I'm not in the mood for any surprises. So let's all stay sharp." Looking out a window from his place on the second floor of an empty apartment down the street from them, he hoped the words had registered. From the first moment they started on this path to the new enhanced, he had been fighting a sinking feeling in his stomach. Like a growing pit that only got heavier the closer they got, and he didn’t like it. Maybe it was just all the new and exciting experiences they'd been having lately -a certain decent upon New York still fresh in his mind- but the old soldier was having a hard time keeping everything straight. ' _Aliens, enhanced twins, Gods with a chip on their shoulder.. and now this woman.._ ' His mind raced with the thoughts of what would come next.

Of all the uncertainties lately, one thing he had come to be sure of, was that there would always be something else. Some new and 'different' thing coming along and upending any remaining bit of normalcy left in his life. Not that he wanted to sound biased. As a German lab rat himself he knew better than to throw stones, but the unpredictability that came with every new thing that popped up made him feel like there really would alway be something. Something else to disrupt the peace, his peace. And this pit in his stomach made him feel like she might be that next thing.

"Captain. You seem troubled." He tried to relax at Thor's words, only now realizing how tense he must have appeared to the God of Thunder. His shoulders dropping slightly as he let the muscles in his back untighten, sacrificing his posture for the illusion of calm.  
He didn't want his inner turmoil rubbing off on Thor. He was a good addition to the team, an excellent fighter, leader, and he even had his moments of compassion, but that didn't mean he wanted to look weak in front of him or pass his worries on to him. He may have spent a lot of time off world in the past, but Earth had been the needier of the nine realms lately, and it didn't look like that was going to be changing anytime soon. Which meant his presence was becoming much more permanent. And while the Captain was the official leader of the Avengers, Thor would probably be the one person that could compete.

True to character though, Steve chose to see that in a positive light. 'Embracing the competition for top alpha.' As Buck had put it, and he remembered how funny the jerk thought he was at the time. But being considered the man in charge had never felt fully comfortable to him. Sure he took charge, and took care -of everyone- but he never liked the authoritarian connotations that came with it. Thankfully though, neither did Thor, which is probably why they managed to get along so well for a couple of 'alphas.' Inhaling deeply he looked back over his shoulder to reply.

"Just waiting.." he sighed.

"For what? For something to go horribly wrong? Like a crazed enhanced running down the street to set the world on fire?!" Thor's laughter helped lighten the mood immensely, and deep down, Steve was thankful for it.

"Something like that.." he smirked.

"You worry too much. Perhaps we should be more uh, 'optimistic,' as you had suggested earlier. She hasn't given us any reason to believe she wants to do this world harm.." Steve looked up at him as he went on. "And based on what we have been able to see, she seems to be rather under control."

"You don't think she's as much of a risk." Steve knew what he was getting at. Maybe she had been in play a lot longer than they thought, but that offered another potential problem. "You know, if she is so well controlled, there's a good chance that it's because someone trained her to be.. and it wasn't us." Thor nodded in agreement, understanding the Captain's reservations.

"Well," The God began, trying to sound reassuring as he wrapped it up, "we'll just have to do as you said then." Their eyes meeting meaningfully as he swung his hammer with finality. "Stay sharp, and avoid surprises." With that the two men shared a nod of understanding, and Thor moved towards the door. His place in all this was outside, ready to step in as a show of force should they need it. Plan C, for ' _call in point break,_ ' as Stark had put it. Tony of course, was plan A. Plan B being the Captain stepping in to be his usual diplomatic self in the even that Tony said something, insensitive. B for _'boy scout.'_ The Captain rolled his eyes as he thought about how frustratingly possible that was. And by the way he could tell the talk was going in his ear..

"...I like this. Putting it all out there. Cutting the bull.. so let's do this thing."

  
"Let's then.."

  
...He might be making an appearance after all.

....................

" _I'm moving down to the street."_ Roger's voice rang into his earpiece, and Tony had to fight the urge to roll his eyes at the boy scout's annoying sense of caution, and predictability. Though, as he took in the woman sitting across from him, he reconsidered his snap judgment. She certainly hadn't given him much, the steadily decreasing level of her wine being the only real progress to take place at their table.

"I'll say it again Stark," her voice still smooth, and calm as it spoke into the night, "I'm not interested in joining your little team. As admirable as your endeavours have been so far, I have no desire to be placed next to the Hulk in your next promotional poster." A few snickers made their way across the comms as a couple Avengers on the other end laughed at her comment.

"Hm. Well I mean it doesn't have to be Hulk.." His sarcasm started. "I'm sure we could find room for you next to Wanda, or the ice cube.." She chuckled at his attempt to diffuse the situation with humour. "I won't give up front and center though, that's my spot.." Clearly his defence mechanisms ran deep, and she felt she had to interrupt or he might actually keep talking indefinitely.

"Mr. Stark." He calmed his rant with a huff, and straightened at her words.

"Tony, please." He squirmed a bit against his stiff posture. "If we're being straight with each other, might as well drop the formalities. Don't you think..." She grinned at his discomfort.

"Moira." She offered, and he accepted. Though she had no doubt he already knew all he could about her, name included, she still returned the courtesy. 'Besides.' She thought. 'It's not like any of it is really me anyways..'

"Moira then, thank you." He seemed to calm slightly at her efforts to put him at ease. "As I was saying, it's not like all we offer is a membership card, and a discount on tactical gear." She let a quiet laugh escape as he went on, emboldening him. "The truth is, there's a lot of stuff out there that we can't even come close to understanding. And while some will always focus on how they can make whatever new chaos comes work for them, we want to focus on how we can prevent it altogether. Or at least be damned prepared." His face had grown serious, and she could tell he meant the words he was saying to her, she just wasn't sure she was in the right place to help them.

"I can appreciate that Tony.." He must have seen the apprehension across her face, because as she finished off the last of her wine, he used the opportunity to speak up. One final play.

"I'm sure." He interjected. "Listen.." he started again, trying to soften his tone as he looked behind him. Another couple was taking a seat at a table not too far from them, and he thought it might be time to use this opportunity for a change of scenery. _'Maybe it was time for plan "B" after all.._ ' He turned his head back to her waiting gaze. "What do you say we take a walk?"

"Getting antsy Tony?" She joked as he smirked back, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull more than enough euros from his wallet to cover her lonely glass of wine.

" _She didn't even flinch.."_ He heard through his earpiece, Romanov making sure to point out her lack of suspicion when Tony reached into his jacket. He had noticed it too. Either she wasn't paying attention, or she just didn't see him as a threat. And while he wished for the former, he feared the latter was much more likely.

"Just don't want this night to go to waste." He smiled up at her. "We are in Italy after all." He motioned around him. "I might as well make my last ditch pitch while walking down a cobblestone street, surrounded by beautiful architecture, with a beautiful woman."

"What, no gondola ride?" More snickers from across the comms.

"No, but if you sign on, I could probably throw that in.." He stood, hoping she would follow suit as he buttoned his jacket back up, and thankfully, she did.

"Sure." She started as he moved to pull her chair out. "When in Rome.."

The two left the restaurant without incident, and for a moment Tony couldn't believe just how well it actually was going. Sure, she was shutting him down at every turn, but he had been anticipating some type of grandiose altercation that ended in a glowing gal. Having a glass of wine, and taking a walk was better than most of his dates ended. Their feet clicked down the cobbles as the restaurant faded from view behind them. She knew he would have agents everywhere, she knew he chose this direction, this street, for a reason.  
But like he had suspected, she didn't really care. They were no threat to her if they did decide to do something as stupid as attack her. Sure she could end up injured, or causing some property damage, but she thought letting it all play out was worth it. She wanted to see how they responded.  
Were they really the unbiased good guys they claimed to be, or would they react like every other 'benevolent leader' she met in her travels who stamped their feet in a tantrum at the word 'no.'

 _'Let's find out..'_ She mused to herself, taking Tony's arm as he offered it.

"Moira." His voice seemed less sure now. Maybe desperate even. "We're not perfect, but we're doing our best, and we genuinely have everyone's wellbeing in mind." She studied his features as he went on. "We've seen what you can do, and I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you're probably capable of even more. We're not just looking to put you on an Avengers leash, only letting you off when we decide to send you on a mission. Every one of us is here willingly, and you can leave at any time.." He sounded genuine as his reassurances poured out. "I understand if the public aspect of it makes you nervous, and we can do something about that, give you as much privacy as you need from the public.." She nodded along with his sales pitch. "But more importantly, we can help you get to know your powers. Help you learn to control it.."

There it was.

She was just waiting for the pitch to take the, 'let us help you develop your powers,' route. Like she was some young naive girl who had just stumbled into them, so desperately searching for something to ground her in this trying time.  
Mind you, more often than not, that probably was the case when they found an enhanced. And she applauded their little bit of community service, adopting every stray they could find, as long as they served their cause.

"Listen, Tony.." his head turned at her interruption, and she wondered how blunt she should be. "I appreciate your reaching out. I do. I understand that the vast majority of 'strange new people' that you find, are usually exactly as you've described them; young, scared, and just looking for some sense of stability to bring them back down before they succumb to their powers, and implode upon themselves like a dying star.. I get it." He tilted his head and scrunched his face into a look of mock shock or insult at her forward reduction of his words, but let her continue. "And I also understand your concerns. That maybe my powers will get away from me, and you'll be cleaning up a crater in the middle of some little neighbourhood I blew to Hell because I lost my temper. Or maybe that I'd go work for some, 'snakey' bad guys.." He tensed at her veiled comment, and she could feel a shift in his relaxed posture, so she went on, hoping to alleviate that. "So let me assure you, Mr. Stark. I didn't just discover my abilities yesterday, I have them under control, and I have no desire to use them to do any kind of harm. If I even decide to keep using them at all.." She watched as his head dropped back in defeat, eyes looking up to the sky as he seemed to be searching for something to say. Some final angle.

"Moira.. I don't want to be pushy, but you're an unknown. I'd love to be able to take you at your word, but how can I possibly know you'll walk away and we'll never have an issue?" She stopped walking and let a smile show on her face as she turned him towards her.

"You don't, Mr. Stark." The formal use of his name giving him the impression that their conversation, and it's relaxed nature, was about to reach it's end. "And I think it would do well for me to remind you, that there are actually very few things you truly can 'know' in this world. Let alone control." She removed her arm from his, and gave him a curt nod. "Don't let your fear of the unknown cause you to lash out against it." She could tell he was actually pondering on her words for a moment, and it gave her hope.

"Welp. Obviously, I didn't do a very good job of convincing you." He huffed with a dry laugh. "Was I too cheeky? Was that it?"

"No, that wasn't it. I mean I won't pretend it helped, but, still, no." He nodded again, though still didn't seem ready to give up.

"Alright, so I didn't sell it as well as I could. But maybe you'd be willing to speak to someone else, someone you could relate to more.. you strike me as someone who’s, soldiered?"

"You didn't sell it, because I wasn't in the mood to buy. A different pitch for the same unwanted product isn't really going to make a difference.." He seemed to be amused by her stubbornness, but she knew what he was up to. "You can tell him to come out of the shadows now." Tony didn't bother to feign surprise at her knowledge of the hidden members. Then he smirked at the words, 'hidden members.' And as she watched the curious smirk spread across his face, the corner of her eye caught a subtle movement. Someone stepping out from a doorway a few buildings ahead. A tall, muscular frame moving slowly towards them, and she still held onto the hope that they weren't stupid enough to actually try to fight her.

....................

Steve was prepared for this possibility. He had agreed with Tony that the best outcome was for her to opt to join them, it was too difficult to keep tabs on her, especially if she really wasn't new to this like she suggested, she could just disappear if she wanted to.  
But he also didn't like the idea of pressuring anyone into something they didn't want, let alone such a difficult life as this, though he had to try. She was too powerful to just let walk away. Just before he stepped out, Steve had notified everyone to be on the ready, and Thor was waiting in the wings in case Steve's diplomacy failed. He hoped it wouldn't, but it didn't make him feel any lighter as that pit in his stomach seemed to weigh him down more with every footstep.

"Apparently I'm not much of a convincing salesman." Tony mumbled in his direction, trying to keep the mood light as the situation edged nearer and nearer to, more complicated.

"We won't hold it against you." Steve returned to him, trying to do his part to keep things amicable, but wanting to wait until he was actually visible and not shrouded in shadows before addressing her directly. He had better manners than that. 

"And who's this.." the woman asked Tony rather redundantly, still speaking to him as she herself wasn't about to start addressing some loner in the shadows. She had better manners than that.

"Cap, come, let me introduce you to our lovely Moira.."

Steve steeled his nerves as he closed in on the woman. Her elegant look catching him off guard as he tried to relate the current image in front of him to the one in their footage. Maybe the darkness was playing a factor, but her features seemed to want to blend into the night. Her dark brown hair, almost black, matched her eyes. Dark, and mysterious, but not without a certain softness to them, they stood out against her olive tanned skin. And he suddenly felt like they hadn't seen any proper pictures of her, the images in her file not doing justice for the woman in front of him now. For a moment, he had to remind himself to keep his composure. He was so struck by her beauty.

He stepped into the faint light of one of the street lamps just as Tony finished speaking, and noticed she was taking a few steps of her own. Making sure to show she wasn't about to shy away from him. Calm and sure, just like her voice as she addressed the Captain standing in front of her.

"Ah," she cooed, " _seo chugainn an shaighdiuir."_ And the second the words left her lips, he felt like he’d been hit by a tank.

Recognizing them instantly, and he felt like he’d been transported back in time. Both of his parents had immigrated from Ireland, and some of his fondest memories were of his mother before she passed, casually going about the house, doing just about anything while she sang some old Gaelic song. It had been so long since he heard the language spoken aloud, the way the words rolled off of her tongue made him homesick. But more than that, these words had been burned into his mind since he was a young boy, his mother fawning over him as she beamed at the thought of his soulmate being a good Irish girl.

His soulmate.

And his feet stopped instantly as his brain tried to catch up to what that pit in his stomach had clearly been trying to tell him.

"What?" Tony's head snapping back to her. "That was just a mess to me. Un, sigh jur? What does.. was that Irish? You definitely sounded Irish for a second there. Not seeing the resemblance though.." Steve was barely registering his ramblings.

"It's.. it"s Gaeilge.." Steve hardly got the words out, not managing much more than a barely audible mumble as he spoke, more to himself than Tony. His fellow Avenger probably only hearing him over the comms. But Steve wasn’t paying attention to that, he wasn’t seeing Tony's face as he gradually began piecing the message together for himself. No doubt remembering now how Steve was Irish, meaning she would have said it to let him know she'd done her homework too. That she knew who he had on his team, who would be waiting in the shadows. But Steve wasn't bothering with any of that, he could barely think. Luckily though, she didn't let the silence last long.

"I'm not sure what purpose he has planned for you, Captain." She made sure the words had a little bite to them before she went on. "But I'd say bringing out the big soldier, to intimidate a woman in a dark, empty street, sends a certain message. Doesn't it?" She thought they were going to try and take her, he realized, and his mind raced as he tried to form a coherent thought long enough to say something, anything that would keep her from trying to run, or fight.

Her. His soulmate.

"Ma'am, I.." His voice caught in his throat, suddenly not sure of anything anymore, but knowing he had to say something."..I am not your enemy.."

And the moment he spoke, he could see her visibly stiffen, mirroring his own earlier shock, and he wondered if her heart was now pounding in her chest just the same as his. Honestly, he was just proud of himself for getting any words out, but he wished he'd managed something a little better than that mumbled mess. How many times over the years had this woman probably read that terribly haphazard sentence, and wondered about the person saying it. ' _She probably thought she'd meet me in battle._ ' He thought to himself. _'Or that I'm some kind of stammering idiot..'_ Her eyes were wide with distrust, and he realized the potential for her to just take off running seemed the most likely at the moment. Fear, and uncertainty flashing across her face as Tony seemed to be trying to figure out what the Hell was going on around him.

"You're.. you're not.." Her embarrassment was cut short. Interrupted by a crack of thunder, as lightning flashed through the sky, and a large man suddenly descended onto the street before her. Landing next to the soldier, and sending her jacket flying off her shoulders as the breeze that followed him down flew out in every direction. Steve hadn't realized it, but Thor had been hailing him on the comms. Wondering if the silent scene was due to an unnatural tension, the kind that usually precedes a fight. Her eyes flashed to the unwanted addition, another large, blonde man. Also a soldier, but a little more, international.

"Captain."

"Thor.."

They exchanged their quick pleasantries, Thor not noticing how quietly Steve had spoken his, he was more focused on the woman in front of him. The same thoughts that passed through Steve's mind just a few minutes earlier, now running through his. She was striking. But Thor knew better than most that sometimes the most beautiful things were also the most deadly, and he held his hammer tightly at his side. The low rumble of distant thunder backing him up as he tried to be the show of force he felt was needed. Still speaking to Rogers at his side, he continued.

"This young maiden seems to think she already knows what will happen here tonight." Continuing the show of bravado as he spoke to the Captain, crossing his hands in front of him, his sparking hammer on full display as it flickered in unison with the streaks of lightning behind him. His rough approach certainly had the desired affect, jarring her from the fog that had been creeping into her mind, and threatening to cloud her judgment as she tried to make sense of the soldier. Now she felt her wits return, spurred by her need to silence this new nuisance. If he thought she knew how this would play out, he was right, but whether it ended up actually going that direction was entirely up to them. Her eyes narrowed on his.

" _Es scwant mir,"_ she practically sang back to him, though a little menacingly. Sure a man of his, age, would recognize the words, and her meaning. "Do you see it too?" She was surprised her words managed to have that much of an effect, his mouth literally dropping open as he stared back at her for a moment before finally finding his words. Taking just the slightest of tentative steps in her direction as he spoke.

" _Svanmeyja_?" Her heart stopped again as the fog returned. "That's, not possible..."

The scene was an eerie sight to start with. The dark night casting creeping shadows anywhere one of the timid lamplights couldn't reach. The two soldiers standing in the center of the street, a foreboding pair looking ahead at a frozen woman. To the rest of the team looking on, it seemed like she might be frozen in fear at the prospect of tussling with the men before her. And they were partly right.

The fear in her chest swelled, as the fog settled deeper into her mind, creeping into places she didn't think existed. She couldn't think. All she could do was feel, and only the most basic of instincts were getting through. Fight, flight, or freeze. Well, she was already frozen, and anything else would be better than that, but she couldn't fight them, could she?

"Okay, am I missing something?" Tony's voice finally broke the silence as he tried to block out the handful of voices mumbling their constant questions in his ear. Thor and Steve were just standing there, were they waiting for something? What were they trying to do? And Moira.. ' _, Oh no, Moira.._ ' He snapped out of it as he saw the obvious terror on her face, tension in her muscles, sure of what was about to happen, and tapped his chest. The nano bots shooting out as his suit quickly began to form around him.

And not a moment too soon.

A sudden flash of light, and he was pushed back, looking frantically around as he tried to get his bearings. But by the time his eyes had adjusted back to the darkness of their little street, there was nothing to see. She was gone. Tony watched as the other two realized her absence at the same time, and lunged forward, only to stop when he realized no one was following him.

"Are we not going after her?!" He ask-shouted, obviously confused by their restraint. "Thor, big guy. Ya you. A minute ago you're threatening her with a throw down, and now we're letting her go?" Thor's gaze found his, and Tony started to put the messy pieces together as he looked into the confused sauce pans staring back at him. "Oh boy."

"What's going on?" Romanov's voice rang through his comm. " _Tony, somebody, talk to us.."_

"Uh, get the jet." Silence as they all waited. Tony watched as Thor stumbled forward, picking up the linen jacket lying on the stones. "I think we have a new situation here."

....................

'Moira' rushed out of there as fast as she could. She didn't want to hurt them, just flashing a burst of light and energy to stun, and throw them back long enough for her to get away. And she was far away now. The streets around her no longer displaying that old world charm she loved so much, replacing the quiet with the sound of people, as a buzz that surrounded the more bustling restaurants and bars filled the air.  
She brushed past a group of friends stumbling out of one, and shivered as they created a breeze. Her slender hands moving to her now bare arms as she longed for her jacket.

She wondered if they took it. Wondered which one would break the tension of what just happened and go to pick it up, if they would at all. Maybe the sparkly one, he seemed the more impulsive.. Or maybe her personal little flash bang angered them, and that jacket was still sitting exactly where she'd left it. Left alone as they went to reconvene, and plot a second kidnapping attempt.

 _'Wow, take it easy_..' She reprimanded. Her thoughts were getting more negative by the second, and she tried to stop herself. ' _An attitude like that isn't going to help right now_..' She reminded herself. Getting out of the country and figuring out what to do next, that was what would help. She pushed her way through another group of young night owls, tourists this time, and found a small gap between two buildings on her right. Not big enough for any kind of regular foot traffic, but large enough to allow her to crouch down while she sought refuge from the dizzying thoughts running through her. One hand found the wall, sliding its way down as the the other found its way to her forehead. What was she going to do. Those men in the street, they couldn't really be her, her.. She couldn't even think the word.

After all these years, she had given up on the prospect of meeting one of her soulmates ages ago, let alone both, and on the same night! She had managed to convince herself they were likely dead. Having lived through the time periods she thought they'd be born into, and then some, she naturally had assumed they weren't around anymore.  
Hence her recent behaviour. It wasn't easy admitting it to herself, but she had begun to reach her limit. She had been too long for this world, and longed for something else, anything else, other than the constant ebb and flow of mankind and it's pursuit of war. So long she had held on to the hope of meeting her soulmates, the only thing she ever really had to look forward to.

Soulmates, that plural frightened her at one time. Once she realized she could keep from aging however, she thought the two mates meant she would meet another after one passed on. Always telling herself that when that time came, she would let herself age again, finally getting to grow old with someone rather than stand on the sidelines, watching entire empires rise and fall.

But it never did come.

She didn't want to admit it, as it meant admitting a weakness, but that was why she had become so careless lately. Usually she was so careful, so good. Literal centuries of practice at blending in, adapting to a new environment as she created an identity to go along with it. But with every year that went by lately, she felt she was becoming less and less a member of the world she lived in, barely contributing to it anymore. And with these Avengers now, and all the new types they were bringing around, she had started to feel like maybe it was okay to step back into the shadows more permanently. Like maybe it was time to find some beautiful home in the countryside, and just allow herself to grow old all on her own. It was while she was in the Middle East' house hunting', that she came across the small town under siege and decided to intervene. Stupidly blasting every last one of the bastards like she would have back in the day.  
Before technology had advanced to the point where just about everything could be recorded and found out, actually, before technology at all.. She smirked as she thought back to the simpler times when she could just flash her powers and be hailed as a God of sorts.

‘ _Oh were those the days..’_ She mused. Her memories flooding her with reminders of past lives lived, and lived fully. ‘ _After every battle, all the wine, and feasts a warrior could dream of.. never mind the harems.. oh my.’_ She recalled the days when people would line up to have the honour of being included in her collection of lovers, and smiled at the contrast of that life to this one.  
The one that had her crouched in an alley, running scared from a couple of men because she wanted to retire in the countryside.

" _My younger self would beat me senseless."_

But she wasn't her younger self. She wasn't the frightened twenty-something praying to the Gods for better days ahead, or even the one hundred and twenty-something, that welcomed battle and all the spoils that would follow it. She hadn't laid in her bed dreaming about a life that could be for some time now, because to her, it had become the life that could have been, and she'd made her peace with that. She'd made peace. And here they had come and uprooted it.

She felt a fire start to burn within her and it pushed her to her feet. She would not cower in the shadows, trying to form coherent thoughts as she steadied her nerves.  
No. She would walk through this world without fear, just as she always did. Her fire raged as she followed the narrow alley way behind her, driving her forwards. Towards what, she didn't know, she didn't yet know what she wanted, but it would be forward, ever forward, never looking back

....................


	2. Rumble In The Tower

The group of Avengers seemed to be taking turns glancing cautiously about the room, none of them sure who should speak first. 

Steve had been quietly staring out the window, his arms crossed, and body tense.  
Thor had been alternating between pacing back and forth, and sitting in a chair in the corner, looking angry, yet forlorn while he fiddled with his hammer.  
And Tony had been ignoring them both, rifling through the computer databases instead, frantically gathering as much info as they had on her so they could get a handle on all this.

"Alright, incoming.." Tony's blunt tone broke the silence, and everyone's head turned as he put the latest information of their Moira up on the holographic screen. Well, almost everyone's. "So obviously our attempt to bring young Moira into the fold didn't go as planned." Two men shuddered at the mention of her name. "But it wasn't a total loss in my opinion.." 

His voice trailed off as he replaced the mission report with a picture of her. Steve and Thor both turning their heads now, even moving closer as they couldn't help but be draw in by her.  
Another picture of her joined the last, then another, and another, until a dozen almost identical pictures looked back at them all. 

"Notice anything?" Tony chimed in. A few shifted in their seats as they tried to figure it out.

"Not, particularly.." Wanda's accent drew out her words as she tried to figure out Tony's game.

"Exactly." He replied. "Gold star to the wonder twin." She rolled her eyes as he went on. "Every picture we have of this, 'Moira', looks just like this.." More pictures started to join, some grainier and farther away than others, maybe the odd difference in her pose, but they realized now what he meant. In every photo, her face held the same stoic look. Strength, and poise showing through even the more pixelated ones. It was as if she were a statue, and different interpretations ran through each of their minds. Some thinking she looked cold as stone, and hard as marble, letting nothing through, and nothing in. Natasha in particular, flooded with thoughts of her time in the Red Room. Others, however, thought she looked like a goddess. The two men were so mesmerized, they didn't register Tony's words as he went on. 

"She doesn't really give much away does she.."

Thor was too busy comparing her to the the tales of Valkyries he had heard since he was a child, so much strength, and determination showing through in her eyes he couldn't think of her as anything less.  
Her features carried such a striking beauty with them, he pictured her flying 'rida lopt ok log,' as they said in Norse, 'through air and water,' saddled to the back of a Pegasus, and clad in glowing armour.  
His lip twitched up, suppressing a smile as he felt like a fan boy looking up at a poster on his wall.  
This was his soulmate?! 

To Steve, the face in these pictures reminded him of the Roman statues he saw in the Met when he was young. Transporting him back to a time when he was just a scrawny kid, sketching the curves and lines of the exquisite marble on display.  
He remembered thinking how impressive it was that the sculptures had managed to make something as hard, and strong as marble, seem so soft. Delicate even. The beautiful women of stone sporting gorgeous looks, with soft hair falling around their faces as they usually clutched to some flowing bit of fabric.  
That was nothing compared to her though, as he remembered her soft features illuminated by the distant light of that night.  
This was his soulmate? 

Tony's voice mumbled in their background, and suddenly the images were replaced by a new one.

They didn't like this one. 

"This, however, does tell us something.." Tony's voice cut through their foggy thoughts as everyone took in the new image.  
It was taken just after their altercation, a faint glow still around her as she fled the scene, fear and confusion plastered across her face, as she seemed to be struggling between pushing forward, or looking back.  
And it hurt them.  
Their heads spinning out of control at the thought of this woman being out there, alone, and confused, trying to make sense of what had just happened. It was enough to make their blood boil..

"What is this supposed to tell us?" Vision's calm voice queried, only the slightest inflection letting people know it was in fact a question.

"This is the only time I've seen any kind of, well, anything, from her." Tony stepped out from behind the computers to get closer to the projection. "Even that night, speaking to her was like trying to interrogate the Tin Man. The woman is a machine. She was giving me nothing." He motioned up to the picture again. "Until this."

"She looks scared.." Wanda muttered..

"Bingo." Tony congratulated. "But why? She goes from this carefree, 'nobody scares me' attitude, which honestly, had me a lil shook. To suddenly peeling out of there like a bat out of Hell after no more than a few words with these two.." He motioned over to Thor and Steve. Noting the trouble in their eyes as they looked on, and it gave him the confirmation he needed before going on. "Anyone care to illuminate us on why that might be?"

"Maybe she..." 

"Nope not you."  
Stark had cut Sam off so abruptly, it got him a sea of questioning looks from everyone. Sam especially flashing him a look of shock, and annoyance at his rudeness, but Tony's gaze challenged him back, widening to let him know to stand down. Which he did with a few confused glances around him. Wondering if anyone else understood what the Hell was going on.

"Could be that..."

"Not you either."  
Natasha gave him a similar look as he cut her off in the same dramatic fashion. Clearly he had a little game going, but she wasn't going to play into it.  
Instead she kept quiet, watching as he turned his raised eyebrows to the troubled men at his side, giving Thor a particularly pointed look.  
The God looked back at him stubbornly. 

"Why are you looking at me?" He grumbled gruffly.

"Because I'd like to hear your opinion.." Tony replied with an overly sweet tone. "Specifically, your opinion." 

A room full of confused faces watched the strange interaction, as Thor's frustration seemed to grow with Tony's smugness. 

"I'm not here to be interrogated by you Stark. Now speak plainly, or not at all, your games bore me."

"Okay then, not ready yet. How about you Cap?"

"Excuse me?" Steve wasn't sure how convincing he was sounding.

"Really? You're gonna fight me too?"

Thor and Steve glanced over their shoulders at each other as they started to realize why Stark was singling them out. 

Just them. 

The both of them. 

"Oh-ho.." Tony saw the flash of understanding and rage as they met each other's eyes. "You two, haven't really talked since we got back have you."  
A whole new level of uncomfortable silence fell upon the room as the two men found themselves fully squared up with each other. Their chests heaving involuntarily as a palpable tension started to form between the two of them.

"Can somebody fill us in?" Banner's confused voice tried to break through. But the two men didn't flinch, their eyes still locked on one another as their muscles tensed visibly, and it had everyone else shifting uncomfortably in their seats. 

"Let's, take a walk.." Natasha offered. Motioning purposefully for everyone to follow her out and let the two be. They filtered out in a mix of strange looks, and mumbled questions. Tony the last to leave.

"Just a thought.." He chirped back into the room before shutting the door. "I know you've got some big stuff going on here, but this is an expensive room, and that other door over there will get you outside pretty quick.." His concern for his tech now pushing through more than his desire to see possibly the greatest smack down of all time. An extended version of Shakespeare in the park. 

"So will the window.." Thor grumbled back.

"Yup. Either way.." 

And with that he clicked the door shut behind him. Leaving the two men in silence to stand across the room and stare at each other. He'd done this tussle once before, and didn't really feel the need to take a second pass at it.

There was an unsettling combination of emotions swirling around them. 

Feelings of competition towards one another, of possessiveness towards a woman neither of them even knew, of disbelief that this was actually happening. Concern, uncertainty, worry.. It was all crashing together like some unstable melting pot. 

"So." Steve began, realizing neither of their tempers were about to go down anytime soon. "Window, or door?"

....................

"What are we doing out here?" Poor Banner looked around frantically as he got jostled along the hallway, steadily bumping into someone new anytime he tried to turn to look back, or go in another direction. "Guys?.." Natasha chuckled at her soulmates bumbling and moved forward to slip an arm under his.

"Come on big guy." She smirked. "I'll explain it to you.."

"Okay, uh, but hey.. which way are we going? Our rooms that way." He pointed half heartedly down a hallway to their left.

"I'm aware." She said, looking up at him with a wink as she went on. "But the windows that overlook the the yard, are over here.." Everyone else paused simultaneously as they mentally caught up with what Nat was saying. The tension in the room, the uncharacteristically quiet Captain, the two of them squaring up like that..

"Oh shit!" Sam's face lit up. "They're gonna fight!" And with that everyone rushed to the window. Sam's excitement shifting to confusion again as he moved to catch up. "Why though?..."

Bucky seemed to be the next after Nat to really put everything together, his normally still face giving way to a sudden rush of emotion as he figured out what must have been happening. The words she had said that night.. He could barely hear them through the comms, but he was now reminded of the words on Steves hip, and could smack himself for not seeing it sooner. 

She was his soulmate. 

'Holy shit. That punk found his soulmate..' Feelings of pride, and worry filled him as he reached the window with the rest, noticing their eyes flitting expectantly between him and the field below. Waiting on a better explanation.

"I think.." Buck's words moved too slowly for them, it was torture. "She's Steve's soulmate." 

Nat nodded along with a grin, wondering if they would all catch up before the show started.

"Aaand..." she tried to help them out.

"And I think it's safe to say.." Bucky continued, "She's Thor's too." 

A low gasp moved through them all, and their faces moved even closer to the window as they finally heard what they were waiting on. Noses to the glass they watched as the two hulking figures crashed through a spray of supposedly bulletproof glass to the ground below. Turning mid air as Steve pushed Thor into the fast approaching ground, skidding him along like an asteroid as they ripped a trail through the grass. 

....................

They landed with a thud. The noise of their impact sending shockwaves out around them, and threatening to shatter the remaining windows they'd left in tact. 

Thor groaned under the impact as his back hit first, pushing Steve off, and sending him rolling off in their shared direction. They popped themselves up before their momentum halted, skidding along the turf beneath their feet as they searched for stable footing. 

Thor found his first, and launched himself forwards to the Captain as he too tried to find his stance.  
At the last possible second, he did, and stood his ground. One foot moving behind him as he turned to glance the charging man off his shield like a bullet, sending him sprawling to the ground in a flurry of red and curses.

The Captain used this momentum from the push to swing himself around, bringing his shield down hard with a backhand as Thor tried to get up, knocking him back down once more.

"Aaargh!" The God growled out over Steve's own grunts, as he caught the shield before he could strike him a second time and threw him back roughly. Following the motion quickly with a mighty swing of his hammer, uppercutting the Captain and sending him across the field and onto his back. But Steve rolled out of it quickly in a backward somersault, his every movement so tactical and controlled compared to the God's wilder fighting style.

They were now what seemed like miles apart, their hits packing much more of a punch than your average Joe, and they didn't waste a second closing the gap at an all out sprint. Their muscles flexed, and chests heaved as they simultaneously launched their respective weapons at one another.

Mjolnir flying through the air as it released from Thor's tight grip, just as the Captain's shield hurtled towards it.

The two collided with a a clash of metal, and this time, more than a few windows did give out. Shattering as they succumbed to the violent shockwaves that had been sent out, reverberating across the compound.  
The two Avengers weren't phased by it though, too caught up in the moment of battle, and fuelled by their internal fires, they jumped to collect their weapons. And for those looking on, it looked as though they hung in the air a moment before coming coming back down roughly.  
They stood with heaving chests, each staring the other down, their weapons at the ready for another assault. 

Then a flicker of lightning in the sky as the spark from Thor's hammer started to spread across his entire body, his eyes now burning with a blue flame.

"That's new.." Steve commented as he motioned forward with his shield. "Very, uh, sparkly." He huffed between breaths.

"Yes.." Thor tried to glance down at himself casually, but that was hard to do amidst the awkward interaction. "Yes I suppose it is." 

Steve's eyebrows raised as Thor quickly clarified. 

"New. I meant. It's new.. Not sparkly.." He postured for a moment, trying to regain his earlier fire so he could continue the fight.

"Are we still fighting?" Steve asked, as if reading his mind, or just sensing the dipping mood in the air. 

"Uh, yes." Thor quipped.

And with that, a bolt of lightning shot down towards the God as he raised his hammer high above his head, holding it no longer than necessary before sending the shock of electricity directly at Rogers. Throwing his shield up quickly to absorb the blast, he held fast.  
Their low groans and battle yells could be heard from throughout the compound as they both stood their ground, lightning clashing against vibranium as they waited to see who would be the first to break it off.

....................


	3. The Olive Branch

The men both groaned and grumbled as they pushed off the ground.  
Their aching bodies scolding them for giving in to their impulsive sides, and having a grudge match instead of a conversation. But that didn't mean this fight had truly replaced it, and in the back of their minds, they both knew that talk still had to happen. Steve looked up at his opponents angry scowl, and the devastation behind him, as he sighed deeply. His hands landing on his hips as his head fell down, realizing he would likely have to be the one to broker the peace.

"So.." he started breathlessly. Reaching back to reattach his shield to it's place on his back. "I take it her words meant something to you." He was doing his best to come across like he was extending the olive branch, but really, he knew it was just something he needed to do to calm the fire inside of him before it burned out of control again. It's not like they could just fight indefinitely. Could they? No, no, it wasn't realistic. 

"They did.." Thor returned, trying to wipe a grass stain from his cape, but only really managing to smudge it more. He was doing very much the same thing as Steve as he tried to suppress his temper long enough to return the Captain's courtesy. 

He had always liked Steve, considered him a good friend even, ever since they first met. They had fought together, drank together, and shared countless moments of laughter every time they crossed paths. And now, apparently, they were to share a woman. His temperature threatened to boil over again at the thought, and he tried to focus instead on calming his ragged breath, rather than this strange sense of betrayal. 

"Look.." Steve tried again, realizing they were about to start off on another bad foot. "Whatever frustrations you're feeling, don't make the mistake of thinking you're the only one." He watched as Thor's furrowed brow seemed to soften, if only a little. "This isn't ideal to me either.." he sighed as he let his arms drop to a less threatening pose. "I've always considered you a friend Thor. But I'll be honest, this is tough." He looked back out at the demolished field behind him, sure he'd be getting his first, 'lawn maintenance' lecture from Tony later. For a moment though, his mind wandered as he wondered where the woman was that was causing all this damage. But he pushed through it to go on. "If I'm being frank, since I came out of the ice, I never thought this was going to happen to me. The words.. They made me think my soulmate must be long dead, everyone else in my life was. It didn't make sense. So I'm just trying to process how this is even happening, let alone how it works with another person in the mix. Someone I consider a friend.." His words fell off near the end, and Thor moved to help pick it back up.

"I uh, I understand your meaning." He offered. "Not about the Frank bit. I don't know if that's like a new, 'code name' or something for you.." He lowered Mjolnir with a thud as he opted to try the path of peace being laid before him. Steve's downcast eyes crinkling with a smile as he pulled them away from the ground to meet Thor's. "The words she said to me.." he paused as he wondered if he should offer this bit of personal information, but knew it took strength for the Captain to do it too, and it gave him the courage he needed to go on. "Those words were something often spoken by our Valkyries, ancient warriors, long dead." Steve nodded in understanding. He didn't realize he and Thor had such similar situations. "I had already grieved for this lost soulmate long ago, so when I heard her speak those words.. it was like hearing a ghost, whispering from the grave." 

Steve took in his words, wanting to help the man, but not wanting to push him either. 

"If you don't mind my asking.. What did it mean? Of course you don't have to say.." His tone quickly changing as he worried he had asked too much. But his worries were waved off by Thor's passing hand as he reassured him it was no intrusion.

"Es scwant mir.." he began, "it means to have a premonition, or foreboding. The Valkyries were often thought to be able to see the future, able to predict battles.. On Earth they were worshipped for a time as a type of goddess of war. My mother was once one.."  
Steve wasn't sure what to do with all this information, but seemed to understand the man might just need to talk this bit through. So he kept his silence. "She was mocking my comment to you about her 'already knowing how things would play out.' Clever woman." He smirked.

"Ya, what was it she said after that first bit? 'You see it?' Or something like that." 

Thor chuckled as he reached up to unclasp his armour on the right side by his shoulder, showing a line of script that ran parallel to his collar bone, just below. 

'Es scwant mir.. Do you see it too?" 

Steve craned his head to read it and chuckled himself as it made sense now. 

"Ya, she might be a little sarcastic.. She was a bit smart with mine too." He untucked the right corner of his shirt, lifting it from his hip to show his own words. 

"I'm not even going to try to pronounce that.." Thor started. "Looks made up." They shared a laugh as Steve tried to elaborate on the pronunciation, sho hokun un sigh-jur.

"It's Gaeilage. Irish.." He explained. "And means, 'Here comes the soldier.' My parent's both grew up in Ireland before coming to the States.. I used to listen to my mom sing the language all the time, but it's dying out now.. So I understand how you feel about, hearing the whisper of a ghost. Trust me." He tucked his uniforms top half back in as another silence fell onto them.

"I'll be honest.." Thor finally spoke. Steve's eyes shooting up to him expectedly. "I didn't realize that number was a two-piece." Pulling a laugh from the soldier as he went on. "I genuinely thought that was just a kind of, uh, Midguardian onsie."

....................

The rest of the group lifted themselves from the floor, the window having blown out somewhere during their little tiff, and moved back to the now open space to look back down on the scene. The whole field looked like it had been bulldozed then lit on fire, and in front, were the two men responsible, now laughing and walking off of it together. 

"This is weird. This is so weird." Sam offered, knowing everyone else was thinking some variant of the same thing, but starting to get worried at their silence. "You all agree right?"

"Oh ya.." 

"So weird." 

"Like, the weirdest thing ever..." 

A cacophony of replies echoed in unison as Sam nodded along, thankful he wasn't the only one after all. 

"Ya, I have no idea how they're gonna 'swing' this.." A massive smile plastered across his face as he waited for their reaction to his little pun. But when they all just groaned, and started turning away, his defeat showed just as plainly. "Oh come on.. that was funny!"

"Nah.."

"I don't think so."

"Too forced.." They sounded out again as their words faded under their footsteps. Everyone wandering off to their respective quarters now that the excitement was over. Sam's voice calling after them.

"You guys are the worst.. I got jokes!"

....................


	4. Home

The train hummed along the tracks with an easy purpose. Her head vibrating against the window as she pressed her forehead to it to look out at the passing scenery. The Eastern fall landscape flying by in a flurry of skimpy conifers and muted browns. She was somewhere in the Ukraine, but exactly where she didn't know.  
Sure she could check the map, even the stops listed on her ticket, but she didn't. She didn't care to. And while she could blame it all on her recent excitement in Italy, she knew better than that.  
She was getting lazy, plain and simple.  
She didn't know exactly where she was on her journey, because she didn't care too, and subconsciously, she was starting to realize how that applied to more than just her train route. 

She shifted in her seat, the lack of padding beneath her tightly tweed wrapped train cushion not allowing her to settle into any one comfortable position, and it brought her eyes to the leather bag at her side. Scolding herself into doing something useful.  
She had hoped to spend this free time going over the new paperwork in there, but hadn't quite managed to get there yet. Her mind kept wandering. Every time she would start reviewing the documents, she found herself being pulled away, seeing, instead of passport photos, the faces of those two men from the other night. 

She didn't even know them yet, and already they were invading her thoughts, disrupting her peace.  
With a heavy sigh she pushed them out. Reaching for the bag again, she grabbed the first folder she felt. This one had all the potential choices for her next identity. Moira had been burned, and she'd have to act quickly if she'd want to make this next transition a smooth one. Though she'd be lying if she said she wouldn't miss 'Ms. Moira Ibérica,' she'd grown to be quite fond of this stylish Italian expat she concocted. 

"Oh well.." she muttered to herself. "Upward, and onward." 

The pen in her hand hovered over a few names, ticking here, or underlining there. 'They were both blondes.. didn't expect that..' Another name crossed off, she'd used one too similar before. 'Didn't exactly expect them both to be men either though.' Another name too close to a past alias.. 'And tall too.. massive even.' One name warranted a circling, a promising option she wouldn't have to do too much extra work with. 'But maybe too serious?' Underline, underline, strike through, strike through.. 'Gods I hope I haven't been cursed with mates who don't have a sense of humour..' 

She slapped the pen down. Sandwiched between her hand and the papers as she capped it off. Clearly she wasn't about to get anything of importance done with intrusive thoughts like these, and she didn't want to keep giving them a way in.  
'Maybe I'll tempt a nap..' she thought, glancing at her ticket finally to see how much time she had left on this leg of the journey. 'Three hours? Ya I can make that work.' And with that, she shoved the papers back into the bag. Somehow managing to relax now that the thought of starting this whole process all over again wasn't nagging at her.  
Out of sight, out of mind maybe.  
And as she let the stress of foreign names, and birthdates wash away, sleep finally found her.

...................

She let the cab driver stop at the gate, making some excuse about not wanting to bother opening it just to get a car through. Thankfully he didn't argue. 'Mind you, he could have argued a little..' she thought to herself. Now actually a little perturbed that he hadn't at least offered to help with the gate so he could drive the woman up to the home. 'Chivalry really is dying..'  
She tossed her bag over the wooden gate, it's matching fence spreading out for a few miles in either direction, and clambered roughly after it. Giving it a quick pat to shake the dust off, her feet pulled her forward, up the driveway towards the homey looking house on the hill.  
It's creamy stone exterior blended in beautifully with it's mountainous backdrop. The not so distant peaks towering wonderfully over the expansive spread of Georgian pines, and she was thankful for this bit of isolated peace. Rocks crunched under her feet as she drew closer, symbolically reminding her of what she was missing. To ground herself before moving too far down this new path. So as the crisp air moved through her lungs, she breathed in deeply, holding it a moment as she found her focus, making a point to feel everything.  
Then, she reached out. 

The whistle of a faint wind through the native grasses, the murmur of a distant stream, the hum of life as animals moved through the mountains and trees. She felt it all, their presence, their energy. Right at her fingertips to do with what she pleased. But she shifted her focus from without, to within, and tried to assess her own internal energy.  
Because ever since she had met those two it had been spilling over, full and on fire. But not with the passion or excitement that usually fuelled her, rather fear and worry. And those were loathsome sources for inspiration. She knew this wasn't her, wasn't the way she wanted to fuel her powers, and she prayed she would find it within herself to correct this sooner than later. 

'Learn to feel your own feelings, not someone else's..' Her mother's words rang in her ears. 'And if you cannot accept the feelings that are your own, move to change them.'

Her mother.

How she missed her. She was the strongest, and yet gentlest woman she had ever known, always with exactly the right words to say, and the knowledge of exactly what needed to be done, her intuition was unparalleled. It was what made her such an exceptional healer. She was a true empath, and so much more. Her mind flooded back to an ancient memory from her childhood. Standing in a dark room as her small hands clutched at her dirty tunic, watching in awe at her mother's work. The smell of herbs and tonics filling her nose as she watched her practiced hands move across the old woman's body. She couldn't quite remember, but she thought it was a type of cancer she was ridding her of, the thought of her mother's weakened state over the next few days the one bit of pain that crept through the admiration.

She recalled how she could reach out with her senses on the smallest of levels, microscopic, atomic even, and feel the vibration of energy. She would look into someone and find their ailments, pulling it out of them and into herself where she would "break it up" as she used to explain.  
Of course they didn't understand the mechanics of it all back then. They just saw it as a gift from the Gods and never thought to dive deeper. But in the time she'd lived now, she had learned much more than just how to use this healing gift her mother had passed on, she'd come to understand it as well. Manipulating it in ways she never could have imagined.  
The only constant she knew for sure, was that this energy could never be created or destroyed, not truly, only ever transferred or, converted.  
That much Dr. Mayer had right..

Her mind returned to the present as she found herself in front of her door. Turning the key in her hand as she pushed into the quaint home, and dropped her duffel bag to the floor. Letting the leather bag drop from her shoulder as she threw it onto the coffee table, the unwanted papers spilled out across its surface, but she didn't bother righting them. She didn't even want to look at them.  
She only wanted to be home. It was all she could think of as she made her way through. Admiring the simple, neutral decor that accented her space. The wooden ladder with a multitude of push blankets against the living room wall. The copper pots hanging from a ceiling rack above the kitchen island. Her wooden dining table she had bought from a lovely old man in a nearby town. She loved it all. Because every piece of furniture here was a perfect fit for the perfect home, her home. She kept going til she reached the back door, and stepped out to the deck that overlooked the many trees lining the foothills. Her mind returning to her earlier thoughts..

She thought of how her mother worked. After taking that illness from another person, she would sit with it, breaking it up into easier, more basic pieces to dispose of. Refining it back to its purest form so it could be re-released back into the world. No longer a harm.  
And it was this handling of energy she had come to perfect by now. How to take it in, process and convert it for whatever purpose she needed before releasing it. 

Originally, her best use for it was in battle. Taking in the energy from her enemies, using their very life force to fuel her fire as she charged on. The extra swell of energy gave her strength and stamina like no human could ever hope to naturally possess. As well as helped her heal quicker, and even keep from aging, as it gave her the necessary energy to manipulate her own cells.

But all of this energy had to come from somewhere. The more she learned of, and advanced her abilities, the more energy she needed to fuel the new and powerful things she could do. But she couldn't just keep killing men. That was easy enough to get away with on the battlefield in days of yore, but not always so practical in modern times. 

She recalled the first moment that the concept of seeing herself like a battery popped in her head. She could do things without an external source, but it would drain her, weaken her until she recovered. Which took time, and left her more vulnerable. So over time she learned to grow..  
Become a bigger battery so to speak, capable of storing much more energy, and taking less time to recuperate. Of course the grander displays of force would always take something extra -a particularly phenomenal moment in Italy ages ago coming to mind- but she could comfortably expel a great amount of energy all on her own now.

She stepped out onto the deck and breathed again, each breath bringing her closer to home as it ran through her. And already she could feel her energy settle, some of the fear and mistrust starting to dissipate as she let her surroundings gentle energy wash over her. 

"It's good to be back in the homeland.."

....................

"Any luck?" Tony's voice cut through their hushed conversation with his shameless intrusion. He knew what the men were talking about in their little corner. They may have been trying to appear nonchalant as they casually leaned up against the wall, but not much else had been able to occupy their minds since they crossed paths with her, and he wondered who they were trying to fool. But funny as their obvious obsession was, he didn't like the idea of two of their best being star crossed, and foolish when it came to a threat of this magnitude.  
Thor and Steve both turned reluctantly towards him. Obviously not wanting to have this conversation with him, but also realizing they couldn't avoid him forever. 

"Not particularly Tony." Steve spoke first.

"Ya, somehow I just don't quite buy that." He quipped back, and it was now Thor's turn to return his unwelcome sarcasm as Steve sat back in defeat.

"Stark, I understand your fears. But I would caution you against letting them control you like this.."

Tony pretended to fight back an eye roll, but couldn't help remember the very words Moira had spoken to him that night. 'Don't let your fear of the unknown cause you to lash out against it.' But what did she know. Did she fly a nuke through a wormhole? No. At least he doubted it.. 

"Look, I get the whole 'yay I found my soulmate' feeling.." his mind flashing to his own thoughts when he met first met Pepper, "but you have to see how this is a little different. She's different. Dangerous." The men all stared at each other for a minute before something shifted, and Steve seemed to sigh out before extending yet another olive branch.

"Alright Tony, this is where we're at.." Thor shooting him a cautioning look, but he stood down at a subtle nod from Steve. Trusting him. "We don't know where she is, but we have an idea of how to find her, some contacts on Thor's end.." Tony's face relaxed a moment at that. "..but when we do go to her, we don't want this to be an Avengers thing."  
And his furrowed brow returned.

"No of course not.." Tony muttered under his breath, absentmindedly readjusting some items on a desk in the corner, fiddling like a hurt child. "She's only possibly the greatest threat we've seen yet. From this world at least." His head shot back up to them at that. "Why would I want to be cautious about that?"

"Tony." Steve's voice had a much more commanding tone to it now. Letting him know he was done negotiating. "We've tried the polite route, but if you want bluntness, here it is." Each of their shoulders squared to Tony, and they saw him pull back slightly at their aggressive stance. "This is our business alone. Our lives, and hers."

"The Avengers have no place in this matter." Thor echoed. Tony smacked his hands together, struggling to find something to do with them other than pull his hair out, and turned with a huff.

"Ya, figured you might say that." 

And with that he was gone. Leaving the other two in his wake of contempt, they turned back to each other, already exhausted by even the shortest of interactions with him. Tony had been insufferable since they got back. His fear and uncertainty around her making him more paranoid than usual, which was saying a lot. 

"So when are we doing this?" Steve asked, trying not to sound overly eager, or nervous. Even though he knew they were both experiencing a flush of both.

"I'm ready when you are."

....................

The car doors slammed behind them, a little harder though on Thor's side, and he shot a reflexive look of 'oops,' at Steve. The cab driver mumbling something in Georgian as he drove off.  
Thor had reached out to Heimdell for help in locating her, and had a curious conversation in the process. Apparently he seemed to recall someone similar that bore a striking resemblance from Earth's more ancient times. 

"Perhaps a relation." He had offered, recounting to Thor how that woman shared similar gifts, though not as advanced. "It may be that their lineage grows stronger as their line progresses. Which would mean this one could be quite powerful Odinson." He had cautioned. "If my memory serves correct, she has an ancestor who was once even worshipped in certain sects as a Goddess."

"A Goddess?" Thor remembered how the words had struck him. "Goddess of what?" 

"Of war."

Heimdell's final words had shook him to his core, remembering what she spoke to him that night, and the explanation he gave Steve about their Valkyries.. There was a definite connection between her, and these ancient ways, sparking a few theories that had certainly given them something to ponder during their travels as they made their way towards the Black Sea.  
Heimdell had directed them to a small house on a hill, nestled at the feet of Mt. Khitsma, Georgia. They weren't sure of the significance of her retreat, if there even was any, but if all she wanted was a piece of seclusion and beauty, they were sure she found it here.  
The fall countryside was beautiful, changing from clusters of what seemed like every variety of tree, to seas of hilled grassland. Stirred by the cool wind being sent down from the mount range in the background, it filled their lungs as they approached the wooden gate.

They shared a meaningful look before hopping the fence, as if trying to reassure themselves by reassuring the other. Their civilian clothes not allowing for the same freedom of movement, but they had to admit it had been nice moving about just as people. Taking the train, checking their luggage, this was the kind of mundane normalcy Steve had been missing. It was all one foreign process after another to Thor of course, but even he seemed to be enjoying it. Moving about unnoticed, no one to look expectantly at him.  
His flannel fluttered, as Steve's khakis stretched against the motion of the jump. Both of them hopping effortlessly over the gate. One step closer to her.  
Every step they made towards the house seemed to get heavier than the last as they pushed forward. Remembering now how they hadn't really come up with a plan as to how they were going to approach this. A harsh fact that wasn't lost on them. 

"This is torturous.." Thor's words seemed to echo what was on both of their minds.

"Yup." Steve replied curtly, just trying to stay calm.

"It's kind of exciting too though?" The big guys face twisting a bit as he tried to process the mix of emotions.

"Yuh." Steve returned again. His feet like cinder blocks against the dirt path and the silence that surrounded them. 

"What if she tries to kill us..." 

"Thor." Steve have to stop to raise a hand to him. "I don't know man. I'm winging it over here." 

They turned back towards the house and realized they'd reached the front door. Nerves raw and on edge now as they took in the tall dark hardwood, the same that trimmed the rest of the home's pale exterior. Thor's hand moved out to the door to knock, not really sure what else to do. And a spark of nervous electricity jumped from his hand to the metal door knob, when they heard a voice cry out.

"Oh just come in.."

The lightning shot out and zapped the door knob. His face flushing as he tested the metal to make sure it was cool enough before turning it. Pretending not to see the subtle scorch marks around the frame as he pushed his way in with a reassuring look from Steve.  
Their chests were thumping as they advanced, wondering what would be waiting for them on the other side, but no one was there..  
Their heads darted around for some signs of life in the tidy home, but there didn't seem to be anyone inside. Steve was moving towards a scattering of papers on the coffee table, when he felt a pat on his chest. The back of Thor's hand pulling his attention ahead, to a window over the kitchen sink.  
Another small flash of movement that looked like the corner of a brightly coloured blanket, and their hearts jumped into their throats as they realized, she was back there. Sitting on the deck, probably wrapped in a blanket, waiting on these two men to find the courage to face her. 

Thor was the one who moved first, more out of impatience, and soon they were both through the back door. Stumbling into the light rather clumsily as they looked down. Every nerve and worry now amplified, as they felt like they'd been hit with a bucket of cold water.

Looking back up at them, was Moira.  
Wrapped in a colourful woven blanket of varying shades of blue. Her olive shoulders, and long legs peaking out from it's fringes, bare against the open air, and they realized she was very likely naked underneath it. A French press sat on the table next to her, with three cups in front of it.

"Take a seat if you'd like.." Her voice soft and warm as it moved through the cool air towards them, and they shared a tentative look before doing just that. 

....................

Thor was having a hard time hearing what she was saying. Scolding himself as his eyes struggled to pull away from her naked legs, propped casually up on a wood stump she must have drug up to serve as a foot stool.  
Her ankles crossed over one another, feet wiggling slightly as she spoke, and he couldn't stop the smile starting to spread at the thought of her having nervous jitters of her own. He moved up her legs, noticing the odd tiny scar or mark here and there, as well as the way the blanket started to fall in between her legs.. 

"I made enough coffee for us all, if you're interested.." her voice trailing off, and he saw Steve nod nervously. His eyes finally pulling away as she brought her legs down, keeping the blanket in place with one hand, she leaned forward to extend the other towards the coffee. 

"Let me.." Steve offered politely. Seeming to find his way back to having a normal interaction as his manners kicked in. Pouring them each a coffee, and topping up hers.

"There's sugar and stuff too, I.." she stumbled for a moment, "I didn't know how you'd take it." He watched as Steve waved off her worries, and tried to follow suit with his own show of kindness.

"This place is beautiful.." He complimented. Motioning over her shoulder at the mountains as Steve passed him a mug, watching as the lines in her face started to smooth a bit. "It seems you made an effort to give us a proper view on our next meeting." He couldn't help but grin and motion down towards her blanket. Steve seemed to cast him a disapproving look, but her face had fully relaxed now, letting out a soft laugh as he went on. Not able to help the devious comments. "You clearly weren't worried about having to fight your way out of this interaction." Steve now shooting him a much more obvious look, as his chest swelled with pride at her laughter.

"I just woke up comfortable, and didn't feel like changing that." She spoke with a shrug. "And besides.." a smirk joining her changing tone, "being naked doesn't make me any less dangerous."

"Maybe even more so." Steve couldn't help but blush at the God of Thunder's blatant comments, a slight shake of his head as he returned to take a sip from his coffee.

"Do you disagree, shaighdiuir?" Her smirking face challenging his sense of propriety.

"No ma'am I don't." He chuckled. "I just didn't want you to feel.. indecent." She laughed aloud as she thought of all the 'indecent' things she'd done in her life. Wondering how far down the list she'd get before he tapped out, and it made her want to challenge the Boy Scout. Just a little. 

"It's not indecent to be comfortable in your own skin.. anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is speaking from a place of control, not freedom." Her eyes met his intently as she finished the next bit. "And I'm told you're all about freedom, Captain." Thor's jaw dropped a little, equal parts shock and admission as he watched the Captain struggled to regain his composure. 

"Oh wow." Thor muttered excitedly. 

"Moira, I apologize if I.." Steve started to stammer out, but she intercepted quickly.

"Stena." Their confused faces looked back at her as she elaborated. "My name isn't Moira.. It's Stena." They took in the new information, and nodded in appreciation. They couldn't necessarily relate to her need for secrecy, but understood she must have struggled to offer that bit of honesty. 

"Stena, then." They all sat there for a second, taking in this shared moment of quiet intimacy. Each of their minds running through different versions of the same questions, and all with a similar thread.  
That maybe this could work after all.

The men watched endearingly as Stena's face fought back a timid smile. Stena. The name sounded so much sweeter from her lips, and they each fought back the urge to test it out themselves. At least while she was still watching.  
The trio sat there wrestling with their emotions, scared to stay, but also afraid to leave, they just hoped they could hold in this comfortable moment a little longer. 

But suddenly the noises stopped. 

The birds, the insects, even the wind through the grass seemed to cease as her face changed from that soft smile, to a steely glare. A dangerous sense of foreboding falling onto them, as they felt her cold look turn on them. As if she were questioning their personal involvement in this strange thing she felt on the wind. Their veins turning to ice as they stiffened against the sudden change.

Thor reached his hand out for Mjolnir, but before it could reach him, he was thrown onto his back. His head bouncing off of the grass beneath him, he looked over to see Steve in the same position. Arms splayed out at his side to absorb the impact as they were thrown from the deck by their soulmate. That she had been the one to push them away, they were sure, why she had done it, they weren't so sure.

Mjolnir found Thors hand now as they sat up to look at her. Propping themselves up on their elbows, they shared a confused look between each other before turning it back to her. Blanket still pulled tightly around her as she jumped from the deck, sending it fluttering out around her as her bare feet touched down on the earth. The men catching a distracting glimpse of the curvy, toned flesh that ran from her thigh to lower back, as she marched passed them with a purpose. It was so distracting they almost didn't notice the sudden metallic whir meeting their ears as they looked up in the direction she was heading. Looking past her, to a half dozen Iron Legion suits hovered in the air above her, and they looked at each other again knowingly. Anger now swelling within them as they realized what Tony had done.

"Not that I don't love getting flashed Moira.." Tony's voice hummed out from one of the suits. "But maybe next time make sure we've got better lighting. I feel like I may have missed out."

"Did you do this?.." She was looking back at them over her shoulder. Her words barely a whisper as the blanket began to emit a soft glow. They stood before responding, eyes tearing between her and the approaching suits.

"No." Steve promised.

"This was Stark.." Thor's hammer whirled as he spun it in his hand before releasing it into the air, smashing through the suit that was talking before returning back to him. 

"That was rude." Tony's voice sounded out again, from a different machine this time as he continued his scolding. "So you boys had to go and sneak out to chase some tail. I get that. Hell, normally I'd be proud of that.. Especially you Cap.." Steven's chest rose with a sigh at the poor joke. "But this one's a little different, so lets go, back to your rooms.."

"I didn't realize we had a curfew.." Steve snipped back.

"Trust me, I'm thinking about it. Now come on, don't make me ground you." 

"Still controlled by his fears.." The words ripped from her lips like a curse.  
But before either of the men could react, do something of their own to show Tony, and Stena, just how unappreciated this show of force was -and they were certainly planning on it as more than a few ideas on how they'd like to tear these machines down ran through their heads- they felt the push of a slight shockwave. Watching on as a flash of light, and woman's scream tore through each of the remaining suits. Ripping them to shreds before their very eyes. 

It had all happened so fast. Her blanket was just hitting the ground as the scrap metal settled, and the glow around her dissipated. They looked on with a couple of different thoughts racing through their minds now, as her naked form moved away from them, towards the pile of scrap that had fallen to the ground.  
Picking up a still flickering helmet, she held it up to her eyes and, returning the lifeless gaze, spoke.

"Mr. Stark.." Steve and Thor watched on. "I understand your fears, but for the love of the Gods, stop letting them control you like a child." Another flicker as the power threatened to leave it, but she continued confidently. "You will leave us be. Or the last thing you will ever see, will be me with my boot on your neck." The men exchanged a look that asked each other how serious they thought she might be. "You want something to fear. Fear that."  
And with that she crushed the helmet in her hand. It's final sign of life flickering out as she turned away.  
They watched in awe as she walked back for her blanket, tossing it over her shoulder before walking between them once more, barely covered as she sauntered back to her home.

"Stena, what did you.." Steve stuttered. ".. why would you say that?" Struggling against his better sensibilities as he watched her throw the blanket down on the chair with a rage. Fully exposed now to both the air, and their eyes, as both sent goosebumps across her skin. Feeling their internal struggle to keep their calm, and act rationally, while their eyes wandered across her body. 

"I said that, because I meant it." She turned her head back to Steve, arm reaching out to the door. "I don't take kindly to be threatened in my own home." And with that she was inside, leaving the door to hang open behind her. Thor watched on long after she had left, but turned as he felt Steve's burning stare. "I know you probably don't approve of any of that.." Thor's deep tone mumbled out. "But I have to say. I very much like her.." His eyes met Steve's now and saw something more than just the usual disapproving looks he doled out. Something mirroring his own passions. 

"Well she doesn't mince words. And I wasn't going to say I don't approve." Steve replied with a huff. "I was going to say I need to find a phone..." Thor watched as he moved to follow Stena's route back into the house. "Tony's about to get a talking to.."

He watched as the Captain marched harshly towards the house, and couldn't help but feel a strange sense of pride at his eagerness to defend her. He could honestly say that in all his years, he never would have thought he'd be pleased to see another man move to defend his woman. And felt a strange sense of acceptance as he started to realize, she wasn't just his woman, or Steve's.. She was theirs. 

....................


	5. Playing House

Steve stomped up the deck, and through the door she had left open. His anger pushing his normally well preserved composure aside as he moved to the duffel bag he had left by her coffee table, items spilling out as he riffled through it roughly, looking for his cell phone.  
'The Hell was that son of a bitch thinking?' His thoughts whirred furiously. So angered by Tony's audacity to make a move like that, to try and intimidate them into coming home and, what, treat her like a hostile? His hands tore through the bag, so angry, he hadn't noticed her presence. 

"Ahem.."

Steve's head shot up like a rocket as he searched for the noise, and found it as Stena smirked down at him from the stair landing. Still nude, but strategically posed at it's turn, she had all the important bits shielded from his gaze. It didn't keep him from feeling just as exposed as she was though, instinctively averting his eyes out of decency.  
She let a laugh escape as her earlier words on 'freedom' didn't seem to have sunk in just yet, and wondered how long it would take to break through his modest wall. It was then that he finally spoke, interrupting her thoughts with stuttered apologies. 

"Ms... I mean, Stena.. I, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were..."

"I'm traipsing around in the nude, and you feel you need to apologize to me?" She interrupted. "Does your decency know no bounds Rogers?" The words leaving in a chuckle that seemed to help put him at least a little at ease.

"Old habits.." He sighed. 

A quiet fell on them then, and Stena could sense a change in his heart. An anger that once burned brightly when he had first come charging in to the room, had calmed some, a sense of longing threatening to snuff it out. "Rogers?.." she asked softly after him.

"Steve.. please." She nodded as he shook his head against the formal name. She had only said it to be polite, but he was right, she didn't like the awkwardness of these formalities anymore than he did. She turned a little more towards him and watched as his hand tugged against the hem of his shirt, uncomfortable with this encounter, and it moved her. Emotionally at first, but then literally as she let her feet turned fully towards him. His posture stiffening again as her naked form moved without hesitation. 

"Stena, I'm not.." She pulled another blanket from a bench at the foot of the stairs, wrapping herself in the fleece to help make him feel more comfortable. 

"Better?" She asked. His head still politely turned away as his hands held firmly on his hips, and she raised a hand to help right his gaze. Hopeful her bared shoulders wouldn't be enough to keep his eyes searching elsewhere. He tensed as her fingers reached his cheek, but still let her turn it towards her. "Steve..." She began again, but stopped as she realized his anger, even the longing she had felt only moments earlier, were being overrun now with a swell of nervous uncertainty. And this was no way to be. Suddenly she felt more than moved to try and help him, she felt obligated. "Steve, will you allow me a moment of trust?" 

His eyes twitched as he wondered what she could mean, but gave her a soft nod, almost instinctive as he leaned in to her trusting aura. She returned his permission with a smile, and he watched it turn into a smirk as she leaned in herself. Stretching up on the tips of her toes as she brought her lips to his. His breath hitching as he felt her other hand move up to his chest, the soft touch mirroring her lips as they parted to meld seamlessly with his. She moved so tenderly, he had a hard time comparing these movements to the dramatic show of force moments earlier. Part of him still felt unsure of all this, but another part wanted more of her soothing energy. And he started to realize that these calm feelings washing over him weren't by happenstance, it was her doing.. Stena closed her eyes to the outside, turning her attentions within him as she found his nervous energy easily. Reaching out to hold it in her hand so to speak, and worked to calm its rapid vibration. She could feel his muscles relax beneath her hands as he accepted her efforts, but only stopped when she felt his mood had fully shifted. A quiet groan of protest seemed to escape his lips as she began to pull hers away, and let the last bit of calm flow her fingertips as she opened her eyes. Looking up through dozey lashes to a brilliant sea of blue looking back. Like the calm of an ocean after the storm, gazing back at her with a look of peace, and appreciation. And she wondered if this was the first time he'd ever really felt that. Peace. 

"What did you do?" His words like a whisper.

"I calmed you down." She spoke just as hushed. "You were, tense..."

"You put me on edge." He spoke back honestly, not sure where this bluntness was coming from, but suspecting it must have something to do with how perfectly at ease he felt in this moment. Her hand began to fall from his cheek, and he found his moving even quicker to stop it. Pulling away finally from the hem of his shirt, he rushed to place it over hers, and pressed it into his skin as his eyes fluttered shut. Savouring the sense of safety her touch seemed to bring him.  
"I don't know what you did Stena, but this is probably the most, at peace, I've ever felt. I, cant explain it.. I.." When he opened them again, Stena couldn't help but feel her breath catch now, as if that ocean of blue could truly drown her. And something within her stirred. Maybe for the first time in centuries, as she felt the fire within her twist with a passion she had worried was gone forever.  
Or maybe it was just waiting for another soul to reignite it.

"I.." Was all that made it passed her lips before his came crashing down on them once more. Moving sweetly against her own as his free hand found her waist to pull her in closer. The other still holding fast to her hand on his cheek. She hummed against the calm, sure movements of his lips against hers, and it was like throwing gasoline on the fire. She didn't hesitate for a moment as she returned the kiss, deepening it as she pulled in even closer, tighter. Their chests rising and falling together now as her movements gave him the permission he needed to intensify his own. His grip tightening enough he could leave bruises now as he clutched at her waist. Trying to close any hint of a gap between their needy bodies. Each of their minds so fogged down with desire, they failed to hear the back door shut as Thor walked in, taking in their embrace with surprise, and no small amount of jealousy.

"Ahem.." He opted to clear his throat, rather than pull Steve off of her. Setting Mjolnir on the kitchen table with a threatening thud as the two pulled away from each other. "I make the mistake of not being the impulsive one, and look what I miss out on.."

"Thor.." Steve's shoulders turned towards him, and the hundred apologies he was no doubt busy sorting through flashed across his face. But Stena wasn't in the mood for any of the fumbled words or stubbornness they were sure to bring, let alone any more fighting. So with a quick raise of her hand, she stopped their interaction before it could start.

"I was helping calm him down.." She explained. 

"Oh yes," Thor returned sarcastically, "he looked very calm.." Stena chuckled but continued her explanation, to both of them this time. "My powers." She began, managing to get their attention with that opener. "They center around energy, and my ability to manipulate it." Their eyes narrowed as she continued, listening more intently now. "When I was young, all I could do was influence people, change the way they felt, by changing their energy. Obviously I can do a lot more than that now.. But when I first began, physical touch was the only way I could do anything." She smiled at the memories of her earlier attempts to use her powers. "There's something about the hands, the lips.. It's like it helps me channel the energy, be a little more precise.." Steve seemed to straighten a little, and she worried she had given him cause to doubt that there was anything more to their kiss than just using her powers.  
"Mind you, I don't have to go the physical route anymore.." she elaborated, giving the soldier a knowing look, "I just felt like indulging myself a little." She watched him relax again, and was glad her earlier work hadn't been for nothing. A smile spreading across his lips as he looked down with a blush. 

Thor nodded along, looking like he was trying to be understanding, but still a little suspicious, and obviously upset. And she thought it was probably wise to calm him too before leaving them alone in the room together.  
The blanket billowed lightly as her feet shuffled across the floor to him. Her mind racing wickedly for a second as she thought about the scene she could cause, but she knew it wasn't the right time or place for that, or the right people. They were her soulmates after all, not some passing lovers, and if she wanted to do this right -which she was starting to think she did- she'd have to move with more care. 

"What are you..." Thor's words mumbled out as she closed the gap, but were cut short as her hand touched his chest, sending a burst of energy though him. She didn't waste any time. He heaved abruptly, eyes wide with disbelief as she sent a thrilling rush of fiery passion shooting through him, then brought it crashing back down. His knees buckling beneath him as he fell to the floor. It was so intense it was like a wave of colour had washed over him, and what was first a glowing array of reds and oranges as he stood, was now a cool wave of blues as he knelt. Falling back to sit on the hardwood, his eyes looked up for her.  
She bent slightly to reach out to his crumpled form. Brushing a hand through his roughly cut hair to steady his emotions, pulling it back as the same sense of perfect peace that had found Steve, now took hold in him. 

"See." She cooed to them both. "Nothing to it.." She smiled at them before turning back towards the stairs. "Now I'm going to go clean up.. I just wanted to make sure you two wouldn't have some possessive throw down while I was out." 

And with that she was gone. The two men left alone to mentally sort out what had just happened to them.

"Alright," Thor started as he stood, trying to find his feet, "I believe her." Steve nodded in understanding at their shared experience. "I still don't think my version was fun as yours though. Not, fair."

"Ya sorry about that.." Steve rubbed at the back of his neck. "I didn't exactly plan that."

"Ha!" Thor's laughter rumbling out into the room. "Anytime I've ever found myself in that position, I hadn't exactly planned it either.." The two men shared a laugh before sighing and turning away. Thor towards the back door, and Steve back towards his duffel. 

"I guess I'll go clean up?" Thor motioned towards the back yard. "Are you still going to call Stark?"

"I mean, yeah.." He mumbled, finding the phone more easily now that he wasn't ripping through everything. "I just don't know how, angry I'm going to sound anymore.." Thor chuckled again as he watched him hesitate politely, phone in hand. 

"I'm sure you'll still find some words.."

....................

Stena stepped in front of the mirror and wiped a clean streak through the steam, looking back at her foggy reflection with pride. Long, wet tendrils of dark hair fell around her face. The slight wave of her natural texture showing through in the bathrooms humidity as she wiped it once more, and looked at herself a little closer this time. Deep, rich chocolate orbs looking out through slightly hooded eyes, and a curtain of heavy lashes. The dew of her shower still clinging them together. Her full lips parted into a small smile, that crinkled her olive skin around her eyes.  
Of all the looks she'd sported over the years in her attempts to stay off the radar, this one she liked better than all the rest. Just her. Natural. 

She took in these dark features with a smile, not because she was feeling particularly narcissistic, but because of where they came from. Ever thankful that her gifts weren't the only thing she'd inherited from her mother, because as strange as it might sound, looking in the mirror was the closest she could get to seeing her mothers face. Was the closest she could get to her.

'It's not as though we had a camera back then.' She mused a little longingly. Oh how she would give anything to have a photograph of her parents. Just one. Something tangible she could hold in her hands.  
But her memories would have to do, and in all honesty, she couldn't really complain. Over the years, she learned to use her abilities to tap into more than just her body, but her mind as well. They could be difficult to bring out, especially her earliest ones, but she'd managed to find some truly lovely moments that would have been otherwise lost.

She recalled the first time she managed to pull the image of her father from her mind; just a child, her small hands being pulled from his neck as he moved away from her and her mother to go to battle. 

She studied her face in the mirror, this time looking for the subtle signs of his presence as her memory continued.

His large hands setting her down as she looked into his eyes, a swirl of blue and green smiling back at her against alabaster skin, lingering on the small child in front of him. And she had often wondered if he had looked at them that way everytime he left for battle, or if he knew to hold it a little longer this time. 

She saw pieces of him in her eyes, small green flecks showing through the otherwise blackened irises. The curve of her lips she knew to be from him as well. Her mothers full lips, topped with her father's cupids bow. 

And her fingers reached to her lips at the memory of the ones who had come before her. 

She left the bathroom with the rest of the steam, and quickly dressed in her adjoining bedroom. A comfortable pair of brown peg pants that she cuffed at the hems, and gathered around her waist with a belt. Topped with a creamy cashmere cardigan over a plain white tank.  
She was scrunching her waves to help them dry on their own, when something reached her nose. The scent of fresh herbs, with the unfortunate undertone of, something burning?

"Oh dear." She thought, rushing out of the bedroom and down the stairs to her kitchen. The whole time praying they hadn't ended up fighting in the kitchen and burnt her herb garden to ashes.

"I'm telling you, that, is not right.." Steve's voice rang out from around the corner, casting judgement on whatever Thor was doing. 

"Not right, doesn't mean wrong."

"I think that when it starts to burn, it's officially ventured into being 'wrong'..." She added, rounding the corner to the kitchen. Eager to see what had transpired while she was in the shower. 

Their heads shot up at her entrance, and she had to stifle a laugh at their looks of shock. Clearly catching them in the act of something. 

"I'm sorry if we should have waited.." Steve started. 

"We thought we'd try to do something to repay your earlier favours to us." Thor finished for him, shooting a glare in his direction as he added. "And it's going just fine." 

Steve rolled his eyes. And she had to agree with him, it didn't smell like it was going fine. But she didn't want to be too unappreciative either, so she flashed Steve an agreeing look before turning her praise on Thor.

"It does smell good... minus maybe the odd burnt bit, but that's fixable. What do we have here?" She looked down at a saucepan of tomato sauce that seemed to be simmering along nicely, a pot of pasta, and next to that, another pan of what seemed to be some very over-fried onions. Clearly the source of the burning. "Were these onions?" 

"Onions, and garlic. You see..." Steve started on him again, "I told you. They've been burnt beyond recognition, you cannot use them."

"They aren't burnt, they're just, little crispy bits.. everyone likes crunch."

"Not if it's a charcoal brick you're biting in to..." As funny as their back and forth was, seeing the food was making her too hungry to just stand around and let it continue, so she made the executive decision to step in and help.

"Well they say it's the thought that counts." She smiled at the pouty God. "May I help?" He nodded with a grin, maybe feeling less defensive now with her easy going approach, and she was glad to have had that affect. 

'Why do I care so much?' She couldn't help but think as she noticed the swell in her chest. 'At least, so soon.. maybe its a soulmate thing?' Her thoughts continued to ramble on a loop in the background as she moved across the kitchen. Pulling a new onion, and garlic cloave from where they hung on her wall above the herbs.

"Here," She offered, "let me help. I'll cut these up while you watch the sauce?" He nodded, accepting her terms happily as it meant he didn't have to keep faking his way through this midguardian dish. "Oh actually," she went on, "I have some fresh lettuce outside, I could make a salad with this if you'd like?" They both nodded, Steve probably just happy there would be one thing Thor didn't have a hand in..

"Let me get it." Steve offered, almost excited if she didn't know any better.

"Oh well its outside in a kind of underground cold storage I built into the hill... actually I should just get it..." He held up a hand to stop her.

"I'll find it, don't worry." He said reassuringly, and it surprised her just how much she believed him. She always just did things herself. Mind you, that was also because she only ever had herself.. She watched him bounce out the back door with confidence, and couldn't help but let her eyes linger on the door. 

"He'll find it." Her head turned to Thor at his comment, reminding her just how unaccustomed she was to having anything done for her. 

"Of course he will." She started, feeling like she had to explain her doubts. "I'm just used to.."

"Doing everything yourself?" He smiled knowingly at her.

"Yes, actually." She brought her knife down on the onion, making quick work of it before slidding it into a fresh pan. One without any, 'crispy bits.' 

She was reaching for the garlic when she felt the tears start to sting her eyes. Apparently she hadn't chopped that onion quite quick enough, and took a deep breath as she looked up, trying to blink them back. 

"Oh no, what's.. Lady Stena?" She turned to look at him, frowning at his concerned tone and expression as he did an awkward dance with his sauce covered spoon. Not sure whether to put it down or reach out to her, and looking very out of his element in this domestic moment. 

"Oh no no, it's just.." She chuckled as she tried to wave him off. But he seemed to have made up his mind on what to do with that spoon, and flung it to the side with a splatter of red as he closed the gap between them. Charging forward with purpose.  
She could see his fire almost as quickly as she had felt it. Sparks of electricity starting to spread involuntarily across his skin, and she could swear, even his eyes flashed with the bright blue light as he reached out to her protectively. 

He held her face in his hands, and she found herself melting into his calloused touch. An almost instinctive sense of trust thrumming through her, as his thumb reached out to brush a falling tear from her cheek. 

"It's.. it's just the.." She was stuttering like a smitten schoolgirl, barely able to form a sentence as his presence filled her senses. Overruning her normally functioning brain with the touch of his hands, look of his eyes searching hers, his very scent.. She had never experienced anything like this, it was sensory overload, and she was struggling to process it all. "Its nothing Thor its just the.."

She stopped as a sudden flash of lightning crossed his chest, but that wasn't all, something else was happening too, something she really hadn't ever felt before.. 

'What the Hell is this?' Her panicked thoughts rang out as she felt his grip tighten. One of his hands staying on her cheek, while the other hovered over her chest in worry, as if he were trying to keep her heart from jumping out.

"Stena? Are you alright, I, I don't know whats happening?..." His words were heavy with fear and confusion as he looked on at her, like she were suddenly made of glass and could break at any moment. But Stena felt anything but fragile.

"What is this?" She spoke with heavy breaths, her chest heaving now as she felt the surge of power running through her. Raw power. Like she had tapped into an infinite battery that could power an atomic blast.

"Stena, you're glowing! Oh no.. Steve!"

She couldn't take it anymore. The rush of power was too much for her to contain within herself. She needed to get it out, needed an outlet for this fire before it threatened to explode.  
And she reached out in desperation to the nearest thing she could let her energy out on.. 

....................

Thor watched on as her glow intensified, her black eyes filling with the golden hue that now spread throughout her body. And he feared he was about to witness a similar display to what she'd done to Stark's suits, when suddenly, her hands were on him.  
They reached out with a hunger. Running up his chest, his neck, through his rough hair.. His mind went blank as she pulled him in. His breath hitching in his throat as she pressed her body, and then her lips, firmly against his own. Hands still searching, for what he didn't know, but he couldn't bring himself to stop her long enough to find out. Or he just didn't want to.  
But as her body heaved against his, breasts rising and falling with every needy movement of her lips, he could feel something shifting within him. And started to feel as though he truly couldn't pull away if he wanted to.  
It was as though he couldn't think anymore, only feel as her hunger threatened to take him over completely. But part of him wanted to. To let her take whatever she needed. 

With that, the last of his control flew out the window. He deepened their kiss, pushing her up against the counter as his hands found her waist, lifting her roughly to sit on it as she wrapped her legs around him. She pulled him even closer, trapping him with her thighs as she rolled her hips into his. Releasing a groan at her need to feel closer yet. And she could feel his eager response. His strong hands tightening their grip on her hips as he ground his own into them. His pants bulging against her as he felt a surge of power running through him like nothing he'd ever felt before. Like his lightning but, amplified somehow. Her fire burning uncontrollably and spreading to him.  
But he couldn't stop it. Forget that, he just didn't want to. A deep, throaty groan rumbling through him as his fingers laced into her hair. Pulling at both her hips, and hair, in his efforts to bring her closer. Providing them both with the friction they so desperately needed as she rolled into him again. Her own needy moans escaping her lips as she nipped at his.  
"Mmm, Thor, yes.." She practically growled into him. Tearing at his clothes now as her hands tried to find skin, tugging at his shirt as they grabbed greedily at his bare skin beneath. The electricity within her amplified as the sparks flashing across his skin rushed into her at the touch. The sudden influx causing her to dig in to him, nails raking across his back at the hot rush, and he wrapped his arms around her in response. "Mmhmm.." She moaned out again. Melting at the feeling of his strong arms flexing against her as he kissed her with everything he had. Their mouths fighting for dominance as his lightning danced across them.

That's when Steve walked in. And he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

....................

He had heard Thor call out to him, and rushed back as quickly as he could, seeing flashes of gold and blue shine through the kitchen windows as he rounded the corner. Clearing the back deck's steps in a single jump. His hand lept out for the doorknob, and a shock of electricity jumped out to meet him.  
But he pushed through. Fighting the current trying to stiffen his muscles, as he flung the door open. And to quite the scene. 

At first glance, it looked like Thor had Stena on the countertop, pulling her into him passionately as his lightning swarmed around them. But something in his gut told him Thor wasn't the one in control here.  
He had never seen someone able to withstand the God's lightning like this, and maybe, that was because she wasn't just withstanding it.  
She was using it.  
He took in the scene a little differently now, her glow intensifying like she was pulling the energy from him, using it to fuel her powers. And neither of them seemed to be aware of what they were doing, which was all the more troubling.

"Thor! Stena!" He called out over the loud whir of electricity, but they didn't so much as stir. "You're gonna blow this place up!" 

Still nothing. And he knew it would be up to him to make sure this home was still standing by the end of the day. So before he could think about it long enough to talk himself out of it, he lunged forward. One hand on each of their shoulders, his muscles tensed as he strained to fling them apart. Sending Thor staggering back into the counter as she fell backwards, but he was quick, and caught her before she could hit the floor. Picking her up in his arms as Thor slumped down, a dazed look on his face before the lightning seemed to leave him violently. Causing him to nearly pass out completely as he slouched further, looking absolutely drained.  
But the hum of their powers seemed to have died down a little at their separation, and he opted to follow that thread. Carrying her outside while the fog was still over them, and set her down on the grass.  
The jostling of it all pulling her out of it a bit, and her glow seemed to dim a little, as a more present look graced her face.

"Stena, can you hear me?" Her eyes shot to his, and he could see her fighting through whatever had taken her over. "Talk to me.." he pleaded, his hands hovering over her. Uncertain what to do, if he could, or even should touch her. 

"Steve.." His name was all she could pant out before she felt the fire return. Cutting her off with a pain in her chest like a dagger. A byproduct of trying to keep it all in, stifling it. But just unleashing it in one go wasn't an option.. She looked up at him, and Steve felt he saw desperation creep into her fiery gaze. "It's too much Steve.. I need, I need to get it out.." 

She was practically writhing in the grass now, as the energy her body had so greedily taken from Thor threatened to tear her apart. She knew she couldn't keep it in, it was far too much. But she couldn't risk letting it all out at once either, the explosion could kill them. No, she needed a conduit. Something to help her channel at least some of it out safely before she expelled the rest. 

"What can I do?" She heard the fear in his voice, along with the need to do something, and knew she wouldn't be able to keep him away. The last thing she wanted to do was to to put him at risk, but a super soldier should be able to take some of this, and she was running out of options.. 

'We're going to have to test the limits of this serum..' She thought before looking back up to him.

"Touch me." She spoke, out of breath and out of time as another sharp pain tore through her. He didn't hesitate as he reached out, but she raised a hand at the last minute to give him pause. "Steve, I.." Another pain tearing through her core. "I don't know how this will affect you, but... Arrghh..." Another swell of energy and pain. "But it might, it will hurt..." 

"That's fine." He replied almost instantly. "Do what you have t.o"

Stena couldn't help but lick her lips as she watched his move, and she knew she was too far gone to be able to fully control herself. He reached out to hold her, and she couldn't help but let out a gasp as her energy practically forced itself out to him. Like mad dogs pulling at their leash. Making him buckle around her form as he tried to keep his grip, and his sanity.  
She tried to focus on maintaining some semblance of control. Moving her hand to the bare skin of his arms to try and channel it. Running up his wrists to tense forearms, bulging biceps.. She let out a groan as she felt him flex beneath her hands, but quickly tried to calm her more primal needs. She had to stay somewhat in control..

She let the energy flow out to him, and could feel it surging from her fingertips as it swelled within her. All her major touch points she usually used to channel it felt like they were on fire. Her fingertips, her chest, her lips, and neck.. They were throbbing against her heartbeat with pent up energy. 

That's when she felt Steve's arms tighten around her. Probably more to try and steady himself -keep from falling apart against this sudden swarm of pure energy, and likely pain- but his grip was having another effect on her. She tried to stay clear headed, but the feeling of his warm arms tensing around hers, working their way up her back.. she suddenly felt that swell of energy in her lips fighting its way out as they parted eagerly. And Steve took notice.

She couldn't stop him as the rush of raw energy surging through his veins twisted into desire. His lips crashing into hers. And it was a stark contrast to the kiss they'd shared earlier, as if those tender, careful motions were from another person altogether. A different version of Steve that was thoughtful, and took care. This version however, this Steve, didn't seem to look to take care, so much as just take. As if it were his intentions to take her right there on the wild grass of the field, and he'd cut down anyone who dared get between them. Who dared to get in his way.  
This Steve was wild. And unfortunately for her last bit of self control, irresistible. Seeing the wild look on his face, she knew she couldn't hold back anymore, and kissed the man back with furver. Eager to see where this happy accident might go, to experience 'this' Steve.  
She shifted her focus from restrain to just keeping the energy flowing outwards, sure not to allow any in in her frenzy.. Steve would have to bear a large burden of the weight of her energy before she could safely expel the rest. But he had the shoulders for it. And he seemed to be doing an alright job of finding an outlet for all that new, 'energy'..

And suddenly she was being pulled forward. Leaning back on his knees, he lifted her from the ground to straddle him. Grinding her hips into his with one arm, while the other wrapped around her shoulders to deepen their kiss. A needy gasp escaping her lips at the rush it brought her. But he silenced those moans with his tongue, pushing his way through to find her own as she hummed with every flicking motion. Her eyes rolling back as his hand around her shoulders moved up to tangle into her hair. Weaving his fingers through her thick, dark mop before gripping it tightly, and her breath caught as she felt his strong hand pull her head back. Leaving her empty mouth to mumble and groan into the open air, whining for his lips to return, but also thrilled by the sensation of his rough handling. She ground down into him, her hips swiveling needily into his as her thighs squeeze around him. Hands racing out to clutch at the fabric against his chest. She felt wild, feral, as she begged internally for a release.  
His mouth rushed to her exposed neck. Nipping and sucking against her hot flesh as he felt himself straining against his pants. Looking for his own release. 

"Mmm, Stena.." The way he moaned her name made her weak. A slick, wet sensation between her legs at the sound of her name tumbling from his lips. Her powers surged from her hands, almost a subconscious action as they acted on her desires, and in a flash, she'd disintegrated the shirt she had been clutching at so tightly. He drew a sharp breath as he felt his clothing dissolve away around him, and shuddered first at tingle of her powers, then the cool wind against his skin.  
Her hands roamed more freely now, and he responded in kind. Both of his moving to her waist, squeezing with a thrust of his hips before moving them to the hem of her shirt, and pulling it roughly over her. Flinging the cashmere to a heap on the ground as he pushed her back down. Forcing her tank top up to expose her full breasts before taking one in his mouth. Her flesh tingling at the sensations of his harsh suckling as he moved from one to another. He pulled his mouth off with a pop as he sat up, tracing the curves of her hips with his hands as he made his way to her pants. He undressed her roughly. Pulling her hips up towards his as he undid the belt and zipper that stood in his way. Her pants soon joining the sweater in its pile, and he glared down at the thin bit of lace remaining. His fingers moving along the edge of her panties as he followed it down to her heat, and groaned as they reached their destination. She shivered as his fingers pushed past the drenched fabric to the slick pool still forming between her legs.

"Oh Gods.." she moaned desperately, her eyes rolling back in her head. "Steve, please.. Oh Gods please..." He didn't wait for her to finish. Ripping the flimsy undergarment from her skin as her eyes shot back to him. And she actually felt she might cum right there just at the sight of him. The way he looked at her wasn't just wild.  
He looked absolutely mad.  
Eyes scanning her face, breasts, and curved hips, before settling between her legs. And she saw the hunger flash across his face before he was throwing himself down to burry it between her legs. She yelled out as his hot mouth found her. Licking his tongue up her slit, and through her juices before latching on to her sensitive nub. Sucking and flicking furiously as she bucked against his hungry movements. He laid one arm decisively across her hips to keep her down as he continued to ravage her, only causing her to writhe in pleasure even more at the commanding touch. 

"Steve I.. ohh!.." She panted out breathlessly as his free hand slid up her leg to her entrance, two fingers making their way inside as they curled against her. "Oohh! My Gods, yes!" She cried out at the sudden pressure. Pleasure shooting through her core as he pumped his fingers faster, and faster. Moving them to the quickening rhythm of his tongue against her bucking hips. She could feel her core tighten around him as a wave a pleasure crested within her, threatening to spill over.  
"Steve..." was all she could mutter before it took her completely, and she felt her body seize against the orgasm. Her back arching off the ground as his arm tried to keep her pinned down while he continued. His fingers pressing rapidly against her sensitive spot as he tried to bring forth another. She moved her hands to push him off, the sensitivity almost to much to handle, but he held tight. Groaning into her clit as his fingers did their work. And she could feel the second wave coming. Harder, and more intense than the last, it tightened every muscle of her body as she cried out in pleasure. 

Steve felt her body seize a second time, and sat up to get a better look at her, smiling down at his good work. Her chest heaving as her hands roamed across her body, the last waves of her orgasm washing over her. 

"Look at you.." Steve growled. "Already a mess."  
His words were like pouring gas on an already raging fire, and she reached out to him. Lifting herself to pull greedily at his pants, but he brushed her hands away. Instead lifting her chin to kiss her roughly before pushing her back down to the ground. Sending a clear message of who was in control here. He opened his pants with one hand as he leaned forward on the other, his body hovering over hers as she took in his sculpted form.  
He was impressive to say the least. His pecks flexing as his weight shifted on the arm by her head. She trailed her hands down his chiseled body towards the waistband of his underwear, and he dropped his head at her touch. Bringing his other hand up to mirror the position of his other next to her head, he let her continue the movements.  
Her hands pulled at the waistband his member was so desperately trying to be free of, and he dipped his hips to help, letting his hard cock spring out as he groaned. 

And her mouth dropped at the sight. Apparently his sculpted body wasn't the only impressive thing about him. The man was sizeable. In both length and girth, he was well above average, and far larger than she had expected even for a super soldier. He smirked down at her slackjawed gaze as he lowered his face to hers.

"Is that an invitation?" He snarled into the crook of her neck, grinding into her wet heat as he spoke. "Another place I can put this?"  
Her gasp was hot in his ears. Her already stimulated body responding eagerly to his filthy words, as her mind raced at the thought of all the things she'd happily let him do to her. 

"Mmm.." She hummed back, her body vibrating against his as she searched for words to match his. "Its no invitation, Captain.. It's an order." With that she raised her hips and pushed his shoulder, sending him off balance, and flying onto his back. Climbing on top of him, her long hair falling around his face as he pulled her down for another kiss. Her bare breasts pressed against him as he held her tight, bucking his hips up against her heat, his cock sliding against her slick entrance and making them both groan out. She pushed off of him, taking his lip with her for a moment as she bit at it with a hunger before moving down his body. Passing a few kisses across his chest, and down his stomach as she made her way to her destination. And she moved just as quickly as he had on her. Wasting no time plunging his hard member into her mouth, taking as much in as she could, and he cried out as he felt himself hit the back of her throat. 

"Oh God! Mmm, oh my God, yes.." He hollered into the air, already sounding out of breath as she began moving up and down his length. He groaned again as her hands ran up his thighs, one of them continuing its way up to work in tandem with her mouth. Pumping to cover the rest of him that she couldn't fit inside. His hips started to grind into her as she picked up the pace, and she could feel his cock twitch in her mouth. Signaling his need for more, and suddenly she felt a hand snake around to the back of her neck.  
She was expecting him to push himself in further, but just the opposite happened, as he pulled her up and off of his throbbing member. She didn't know what he was doing until she felt him reach under her arms to pull her fully upright, before spinning her around so she was facing away. And for a moment, she felt herself brush against him, sliding across her wet folds as he pulled her hips up to his face. She moaned at the flurry of his sudden movements, and mix of sensations as he latched onto her, sucking and groaning into her wet pussy. Her core tightened, igniting her own hunger again as she plunged her head back down onto him. Taking as much in as she could as she tried to focus between the feeling of his hot breath, and flicking tongue.  
His hunger spurred hers, and she moved more eagerly. Sucking him wildly as he licked the juices that ran down her leg, pulling yet another groan from her with his feral movements. His hands moved to grip her ass, kneeding into her warm flesh before slapping down hard on both cheeks. And she gasped against the sharp pain as he wrapped an arm across her back, arching her further into him.  
Her open mouth pulled back to his tip, swirling her tongue around it before licking her way up the shaft. She practically purred at the way he tensed under the movement, and it made her want to do more, do anything, to get more of that reaction from him. And with that, she practically swallowed him whole, burying him deep to the hilt as she pushed him down her throat. Shuddering against the sudden pressure of her around him, she dropped her hands beneath him. One grasping his balls to tug gently, as the other placed her fingers against his perineum, pressing firmly as she hummed into him. 

"Oh shit!" He practically screamed as she continued, her movements getting quicker, and sloppier as she moved up and down. She felt him tense and twitch as his lust built up within him, threatening to explode. 

"Mmmm.." She moaned into him as his mouth found her again. Pushing into her as he ate with a hunger he never felt before. Pulling her into him desperately, and she felt her own lust build again. Grinding her hips into him greedily as she continued to bob up and down with sloppy, eager movements. She moaned heavier into him, signaling she was close, and his grip tightened as he felt her start to quake.  
She could feel it coming. Her core tightening, legs shaking, a wave of powerful pleasure spurred on by her powers ready to crash on her, and she dived in deep again. Plunging him into her throat once more as he too shook beneath her. And with that they both found their release, shaking, and moaning, and grunting into one another as they came hard into one another. His hot cum shooting down her throat as he drowned in her juices. 

She pulled off of him with a gasp, drawing heavy breaths as her body came down from the intensity of what he'd just put her through. Grass clinging to her sweaty body, she felt his grip relax a moment, allowing her to move off to his side. She rolled off of him in a haze, trying to find her bearings as she looked back at Steve. 

He was gorgeous.  
Lying back fully exposed, an arm across his forehead as his head leaned back to the ground. Eyes shut tight as the last remnants of pleasure, and her taxing powers left his spent body. She wanted to climb right back on top of him.. But no, she had to compose herself, remember what it was that had brought them here to a sweaty pile on the grass outside.  
Her powers.  
Her mind raced as she remembered how she had let them run out of control, and she cursed herself for that lapse in judgment. She could still feel a hint of the electric energy running through her, but it had been mostly spent. No easy task, though having a super soldier on hand certainly helped..  
'Wait a minute..' She thought, mulling over that last thought as she recalled a fairly key component. 'Electric.'. 

"Oh no.." She mumbled out. "Thor!"  
The last thing she remembered before falling into the Steve Rogers honeypot, was him pulling them apart amidst a wild, electrical storm in her kitchen. Thor's fiery blue eyes glowing back at her with desire as she pulled his energy from him, using his lightning to charge her far beyond anything she'd ever experienced. But as great as it had been in the moment -her mind recalling the intense, and uncontrollable sense of power that he sent through her very core- it had nearly blown the place up. If Steve hadn't been there to pull them apart, and then, help her relieve it.. She really could have killed them all.

She stumbled to her feet, her legs threatening to give out as she tried to find her balance through the remaining fog. Quickly pulling on her clothes as she rushed up the steps, hoping she hadn't pulled to much from him. She had heard he was like a God compared to the average human, but didn't know just how much he could really withstand. She closed the gap to the door, still hanging open, and walked in to a mess. Dishes had fallen from the cabinets, scattering across the pasta covered floor, as the smell of her burnt herb garden hit her nose. And there, still slumped against the cabinets, amidst all the mess, was Thor. Lying unconscious, and so still, she could swear he wasn't breathing if it weren't for the subtle rise and fall of his chest. She rushed to him and could feel his drained energy. But he was far from death, and she breathed a sigh of relief that his legendary fortitude stood up to its reputation. His energy had been greatly depleted though, probably more so than he had ever experienced, and she tried to right at least that wrong by passing on her last bit of excess energy. She pushed it out, through the heavy air, towards his still and waiting form. And he practically soaked it up like a sponge. Taking it and then some, it was gone in an instant, and left her feeling completely drained, like she would have to rest a millenia to regain her powers. She felt more mortal than she had in ages.  
And that was her last thought as she stumbled back, collapsing on the floor as her body took over to recover from the exhausting experience. 

....................

Steve opened his heavy eyelids to the skies dimming light, dusk setting in as a chill passed over his exposed skin. Which was when he realized he was lying outside. Naked. The grass still clinging to parts of his body where the sweat had dried, he shot up to look around. Flashes of Stena running through his mind, but he couldn't find any trace of her nearby, just his pants, and what seemed like some tattered remnants of his shirt. 

'Did she melt it off of me?'  
He reached out drunkenly for his trousers as more images popped into his head. Like the view of Stena's naked body writhing around on the ground beneath him after he had forced a second orgasm from her. "Oh boy..." His hand reached instinctively to his reddening face as he pulled his pants on, blushing at the memory of all the things he'd said, and done..  
Not his most gentlemanly moment.  
Slowly, his thought process caught on to the same track hers had just a little earlier, and he remembered what he'd pulled her away from in the first place. He was still zipping his pants when he reached the back door, and saw Thor slumped on the floor where he'd left him. 

The God's heavy head was pounding inside his skull as he lifted it to see Steve come stumbling in. Unsteady on his feet, covered in grass, and halfway through doing up his pants. A wild and disoriented look on his face as they made eye contact, each of them taking in the state of the other as their minds tried to catch up to the day's events. Their eyes widening at the same time as they instinctively look around for Stena. Thor was trying to stand, steadying himself with the counter when he heard Steve's voice.

"I think she's okay.." He watched as the Captain adjusted her onto the couch she was half hanging off of. Like she'd tried climbing on but gave up part way through the task. "She's breathing, and her pulse is strong. It's like she's just, sleeping?"

"Regaining her strength perhaps?" The words were too loud he knew, even as he spoke them. The ache in his head growing as he leaned forward on the countertop. And Steve seemed to agree. His hand moving to his head to nurse his own ache. 

"Probably.." He agreed. "That was quite the lightshow you two were putting on." Thor scratched at his head as he remembered.

"It felt like she was pulling my lightning straight out of me.." He wondered out loud, trying to think of how that was even possible. "She said her powers were about manipulating energy right?"

"Oh she definitely took your lightning.." Steve started with a half chuckle, "Took way too much, and then damn near blew this whole place up, and everything near it as it tried to get out of her." Thor nodded along with a frown as he recalled the feeling of being drained like a battery. But then a smirk as he recalled her, 'methods of procurement.'

"Yes, how did we escape that?" The God mused out loud. Sure the place was a mess, but it was still very much in tact, and he had to wonder what outlet she'd found for that destructive excess of power.  
Steve shot a look at him, not quite sure what to say. But as Thor took a second look at him, unkempt, half- dressed, and covered in grass, he seemed to put it together. Eyes widening in disbelief as, once again, he realized Steve had managed to be the first to break new ground with their Stena. He threw his head back in a huff. "Oh come on.." 

"We didn't.. I mean.. well, we didn't really.. not all the way.." Steve stammered out. Once again flustering his way through an explanation to Thor, but he gave up, opting to just hang his head in defeat. "I swear," he sighed, "I am not planning this."

"Yup." Thor quipped back. "Mind you, who in all of Hel plans this.." With a gesture of his waving hand, they looked about -from the kitchen's mess, to the comatose soulmate on the couch -and shook their heads at the likelihood of them having to clean it up.

"Maybe a quick nap first.." Steve suggested. 

"Agreed." And they wandered off in search of anywhere soft to lay their heads. Thor throwing a nearby blanket over Stena as he passed her. Marveling for a moment at the beautiful, peaceful expression, that lay on the face of this sleeping terror. He looked back to Steve who had paused his efforts of trying and make his way up the stairs, to look down on her as well. "Pretty calm now.." Thor huffed. "You know, this little pattern of her getting all glowy and enticing, before becoming frighteningly destructive and leaving a massive mess behind... I don't exactly love it." Steve chuckled along as he turned back up the stairs, leaving the God to mutter on. "I mean I don't hate it either..." 

....................


	6. Open Up

Stena's eyes fluttered open. Stifling a groan as she stretched herself out like a cat, rubbing her head into the soft couch cushion beneath her. Grumbling as she pulled her blanket up a little higher.

"Mmm ermm.." She continued to grumble. When she heard something grumble back.

"Hmmpf." It sounded like Thor, huffing out somewhere nearby, and she turned on her side to see him curled up on a chair in the corner. One leg hanging off the side as he drooled into a pillow sandwiched between his face and the wingback. Everything began coming back to her then, the burning smell still lingering in her kitchen as she sat up to see the mess looking back. It had looked like they'd tried tidying up, or at least shoved some stuff to the side before succumbing to exhaustion themselves. Quietly, she rose up from the couch, careful not to disturb Thor as she stretched out her tired limbs. And she had to say she felt a million times better than she had before, a little tired still sure, but much more energetic and herself. 

"Lots to do here.." she mumbled. Not relishing the idea of cleaning all this up on her own, but she wasn't about to wake them to help her, it was her mess to clean up. In more ways than one. She put the moral aspect of her internal dilemma aside for the moment and stretched her sore muscles on her way over to Thor, reaching down to him to help him to the couch. She held his shoulders, jostling them as gently as she could to try and wake him just enough to move.

"Mmm, uh, hmm?" His eyes only half opened as he looked up at her. A great, goofy grin spreading on his face when he realized it was her waking him. "Oh, hello." He smiled a little bigger. She chuckled at his sleepy haze, and moved her arms to under his, helping him up out of the chair. "What're we doing?" He mumbled out. Like a sleepy child who's mother was trying to get them up and out of bed. 

"I'm moving you to the couch. That chair is about three sizes too small for you big guy.." He nodded agreeably before twisting around her to grab his drool pillow. "Oh ya, better not forget that." She smiled as he turned back, wobbling towards the couch with her, and she plunked him down. Covering him up with a large blanket.

"No, I shouldn't sleep.. I probably couldn't anymore anyways. I'll help you, Lady Stena, you'll need it." She placed a hand on his chest as he tried to sit up. Sitting next to him as she continued.

"No, you should sleep. I can handle it, it's my mess." She brought a hand up to his face, running it across her forehead as her powers tingled in her fingers. "And trust me, you'll sleep right through it.." Her voice cooed softly as she let her powers run through him, making his mind heavy with sleep. "That should do it." She ran her fingers through his short, choppy hair, noticing parts that seemed cut right down to the scalp. 'What a terrible haircut..' It looked like he'd been held down while someone took sheep shears to him, and made a mental note to try to fix it once it grew out a little. Though it did suit him in a way too, at least outwardly. It gave a kind of rugged edge to his otherwise soft expression. Though that's probably not what others saw when they took in the beast of a man walking towards them. Muscles of steel wrapping around a massive, indestructible frame, especially in armour, he was an intimidating sight. At least that's what she thought when she first laid eyes on him. But she had come to realize there was a softness to him too, a kind, and gentle depth underneath the warrior. 'I wouldn't be surprised to find out he knits or something..' She mused to herself, and placed a kiss to his forehead before making her way to the stairs. Off to find Steve so she could gift him the same ability to sleep through the coming noise. 

The odd snore hit her ears as she reached the last steps, and followed them to the left as her her hand left the banister to push open the door to one of the spare rooms. And she noted how tired Thor must have been to not even try to make the climb to a bed of his own. The door creaked, and she chuckled when it opened. Steve laying haphazardly across the width of the bed, like he had sat on the edge, and then just passed out backwards. No time to get under the sheets. And she couldn't get past the similarities between the two. Another warrior -strong, and formidable- yet with an undeniable softness to his heart. She had seen the way he looked around at times, taking things in with a discerning eye like he was trying to commit it to memory. Sure it could be from his military training, but he did it at the simplest moments, looking at a tree, or a cloud in the sky like he was lost in his own head. Like there was a certain sense of wonder to the way he saw things, and he wanted to remember it in exactly this way. Stored away for another time he'd need those soft memories. Not what you'd expect from the polite, utilitarian exterior you saw, but she could sense it in him.  
She turned the covers back as far as she could, fluffing the pillows before laying down next to him. Her hand turning his face to hers as he stirred from his sleep too. Humming as his eyes struggled to open. And a warm flush went through her chest as he gave her a smile too. Not quite as big, and goofy as Thor's, more sweet, and sincere. Like there was nothing he'd rather wake up to. 

"Wake up a moment Steve.. Let's get you under the covers." 

"Uhh, wha- okay.." He started to rise slowly. "Or no, no we have so much to do.." He rubbed his eyes as he sat up, still exhausted, but feeling that same sense of duty to help her that Thor had expressed just moments earlier. 

"Oh, it's not so bad.." She mumbled, amused by the similar reactions she was getting. "And you still need a lot of rest." She helped him to his feet as she flung the covers back the rest of the way, then set him back down. 

"Yeah, actually, I am kinda tired still.." He grumbled as he flopped back into the bed. "You really took it out of me.." She choked a little at the nervous laugh trying to make its way out, and his eyes shot wide. Realizing what he'd just said. "Oh my. I'm, so sorry!" But she waved him off.

"No, no.." the laugh finally making its way out, "that's fair." She pulled the covers up to his chest, and sat next to him. "And stop being so polite. I'd say we're way passed that my dear." Her eyes stayed dropped to the blanket as she folded it neatly across him, cheeks still pink with embarrassment as she tried to focus on calming herself before helping him sleep. But before she could reach out for him, he reached out for her. His hand tilting her chin up to make her look him in the eyes, and the directness of it made her embarrassment grow. "Look Steve.." she tried to speak before he could say anything to make her feel 'better', "that was wrong of me to put that on you. I should have been more on guard, I could have avoided taking it in, and, even needing an outlet.. and to do it in that way.. Steve it was wrong of me." He nodded along as she fumbled through her words, but it was more like he was trying to show he was listening, than agreeing with her, and he dropped his hands to hers as he replied. 

"Stena. You couldn't have anticipated what happened with Thor. And, I'll remind you, that I offered to help." She sighed with a roll of her eyes, and he knew she wasn't buying the usual polite words of his, he'd have to give a little more of an, in-depth, explanation. And he sighed himself, biting back his own embarrassment as he continued. "Look.." his turn to flush now, "it's not like it was all you that made it go in that direction." Her eyes looked at him curiously. "I'll admit, it did hurt at first. Hell, the serum didn't even hurt that much. It was like you were flooding me with a power that was trying to tear me apart from the inside.."

"Mm, it kind of was." She added. "I did try to hold back a bit, not let out anymore than I thought you could take.."

"Yeah, and that's the thing." He picked up quickly, spurred by the recall. "It hurt at first, because all I was doing was sitting their taking it, it had nowhere to go, like it was waiting for me to find some kind of.."

"Outlet." She finished for him. "Yeah, that took me a while to figure out in my younger years."

"Well, I couldn't exactly go for a run when you were still trying to get it out of yourself.. so the thought to work it out, mutually, crossed my mind.." She could see his cheeks go red as he continued, and smiled at the vulnerability he was offering. "I mean, I only really thought about it for a moment, but that energy.. it was like it took anything I felt and cranked it to a hundred." He shook his head at the memory of how he practically jumped her. "So it's me who should be apologizing.."

"Steve, let me stop you." She could feel a sense of shame, and regret creeping into him. "If we we're to take an accurate record of what happened, it wouldn't read that you took advantage of me. In any way." Letting a laugh escape as she felt his doubts linger. "I've lived with this power for a long time, I know exactly how it feels, especially when you're not used to it. It- it fuels your passion.." His tired eyes narrowed as he listened. "When you have that much raw power of mine coursing through you, your choices are pretty much to fight, or fu-" He squinted at her disapprovingly, and she caught herself, "-ornicate. Now the more practical application for that so far, has been battle, but I didn't want to hurt you. And, if I'm being honest, I was feeling the same way you were, so.. I don't know, in the moment, I thought, why not lean into it. Save us the risk of hurting one another." He nodded at all the information. "It's my fault Steve, not yours. Not even a little bit." She could feel some relief make its way in. Giving him the reassurance he needed that he hadn't done anything too inappropriate after all, but he still knew better than to let her take full blame. "We can call it a mutual mistake." She finished with an embarrassed chuckle, but she caught how his jaw tensed against the phrasing, tilting his head as he moved to correct it.

"How about a mutual, lapse of judgment." He smirked. "I know this is new, but.. it just doesn't feel right to call any of it a mistake. Regardless of the circumstances." She nodded in agreement, as she mirrored his serious blue eyes with her own. Watching as they glistened under those heavy eyelids, until they began to flutter against the sleep, and reminded her of why she had come up in the first place. 

"Agreed. Now, I came up here for a reason Steve. I thought I'd help you get the sleep you need." She held up a hand as she spoke, and he nodded along. Too tired to fight her on it, and laid back down as she placed that hand on his chest, falling heavily into the pillow. "They earned this rest.." She reminded herself as she stood, heading back down the stairs to the disaster zone in the kitchen. "And I earned this mess.." 

....................

Stena dragged the back of her hand across her forehead, wiping away a bead of sweat that had started to run down her hair line as she took in her good work. The kitchen was spotless once again. Looking just how it always did when she finally came home after a long time away, so clean, like it had never even been used. "Hmm.." Something about that hit her wrong. "Like it's never been used." And she started to wonder if she didn't actually prefer it messier like before, like it was a part of an actual home.  
Like it was lived-in.  
She picked up a blanket, and walked through the back door to the deck. The thoughts of everything that had happened this day starting to play back in her mind, and they weighed heavy on her. The shock of having not one, but two soulmates, had settled some. But the thoughts of a life with them, were still fresh. 'How would it work? If it could.. What would that even look like?'  
She knew better than to think these questions would be answered by just her, but there was plenty else to think of that she was sure would come up much sooner, things about her.. She glanced glanced over her shoulder back to the house, catching a glimpse of Thor's sleeping silhouette through the dining room window before turning back to the swaying trees in her backyard. She knew eventually they would wake, and they would all sit down to have a long overdue, and responsible conversation about each of them, and their shared 'situation.' Though she had to admit, secretly, she actually looked forward to that part. About learning more about them. Their very existence had peaked her curiosity more than anything else had managed to in centuries, but more than that, she couldn't deny the pull. Like she had been tethered to their very souls, an unbreakable thread bonding her to each of them. Ready to pull her back should she feel the need to stray away, and deep down, she was almost thankful for it.  
Maybe it was the fresh air of her homeland cleansing her mind, but she had come to realize it didn't make sense to fight it. They were her mates. And she could continue to waste time denying it, or 'lean into it,' so to speak, and see where this twist of fate would take her. Take them all. But while the idea of learning more about each of them spurred her eagerly forwards, the thought of sharing anything about herself pulled her back just as much, if not more. And this what what she had to decide. Just how much was she really willing to share with them? They could have the kindest hearts, but they work for an organization she knows nothing of, and if they were to have any faults, maybe she would find it in their loyalty to their cause. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." And she didn't want to be one of them. A breeze brushed a falling piece of hair past her face, as if trying to ease her troubled mind, and she took the hint. Closing her eyes as she attempted to centre herself, and she knew what that would take. Her hesitation to trust, her inability to let anyone in.. it all stemmed from a painful, unhealed past. And that's where she would start. Walking out to the grass she sat smoothly to a cross-legged position, and pulled the blanket a little tighter against the cooling wind, as her eyelashes fluttered shut against it. Breathing deeply as her mind sought to bring balance to her heart.

....................

Her eyes opened. But she was seeing a different view, and through different eyes. Her mind transporting her back to an earlier memory from her childhood, a young adolescent girl- she thought about twelve -peaking through a heavy curtain of eyelashes at her mother as she gathered supplies from their home. Filling her apron with a small collection of jars before tying it up securely, and wiping her hands on a nearby towel.  
"Saq'varelo? Are you ready daughter, we should be on our way.." She moved a little faster as she shoved a basket into her daughters empty arms, motioning for her to follow. The corners of Stena's mouth turning up at the corners at her mother's use of the loving name. Saq'varelo. It meant something endearing like darling, or sweetheart, and her conscious mind chimed in the back of her thoughts as she realized how long it had been since she'd heard such a cherished word. 

"Where are we going mother?" She asked as she bobbed behind her matriarch, trying to look around her blue dress to see what direction she was being led. More houses passing them by as she realized they were moving further away from the center of their little village. "Are we going to the outskirts?" Her mother glanced back at her with a small smile.

"Yes, daughter. There is a family living there that has a sick child.. they asked me to come and help her." Stena's eyes scrunched at the explanation, something not quite right with it, and she didn't need to feel the reserve in her to know this. She hadn't seen her mother speak to anyone she didn't know, and didn't even know what family she was speaking of, but she thought she would start the prying small.

"I never saw anyone come to you for help.." Her mother side-eyed her knowingly.

"They came in the night." One look at her daughter told her it wouldn't be dropped so easily, and she elaborated with a sigh. "They didn't want to come during the day because they feared, repercussions. They are not considered, 'undesirable' people, and feared I would reject them if asked openly in the public." Stena's brows furrowed at the thought of what could cause people to be cast aside in such a callous way. Sensing this confused energy from her child, she answered again. "They are lepers my darling."

"Oh." Stena replied. Understanding their banishment in a sense, but not really, not ever. "People will always fear what they do not know, won't they.." Her kind eyes looking out into the air as he mother took in her thoughtful words.

"You truly are an old soul saq'varelo." A smile crinkling her eyes as she felt the pride for her daughter's compassion grow. "And correct. There is nothing plaguing these people, but the ignorance of others. Which is why we must extend that loving hand, when others won't." She paused as they reached the top of a hill, a small, run-down hut coming into view. "Especially when others won't." 

Her eyelashes fluttered against the wind again, swirling around her present form, as her mind pushed her consciousness forward, further into the future. And she shuddered as she prepared to relive the most traumatic moment of her life. Which, considering how lengthy that life had been so far, was absolutely saying something. 

"Gasp!" She lifted her head dramatically, gasping for air as she pulled her face from the dirt she'd found herself partly buried in. One hand jumping up just as quickly to clutch at her throat as a painful dryness tore through it, while the other sifted blindly through the dirt surrounding her for literally anything. Anything solid that might help direct her out of this Hellish pit, her vision hot, and blurred as her eyes stung with smoke. Actually, it wasn't just her eyes that felt the burning sting, her entire body felt like it was enveloped in a radiant heat, and she brought her hands up to her face. Rubbing her eyes roughly as she tried to look out through the tears that flooded her stinging eyes. She was trying to figure out where she was, what had happened.. and why couldn''t she remember. The conscious voice in the back of her mind trying to stay calm as she relived this disoriented moment before her entire life fully fell apart.  
Her small hands wiped the protective tears away, and it took her a moment to realize that her vision wasn't blurred. Those swirls of grey, and black weren't the blurred images of her surroundings, they were the colours of the ash falling down around her. Even the dirt she had been covered in, she now realized was a pile of burning ash, and ember. Small bits of charred wood poking up through the rubble as she spun around in her fevered delirium, trying to find signs of anything familiar. Yet, somehow hoping she wouldn't. That maybe these memories flashing back into her foggy mind were someone else's, or a terrible nightmare..

She found her feet underneath her, wobbling like a newborn deer as she stumbled forward. She had never felt so exhausted in all her life, every inch of her body in pain as she felt she was falling apart while burning from the inside out. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the large iron pot she was sure belonged to her neighbours, and used that to orient herself. One more house to the South, a large chunk of it's wall falling down in a splatter of embers as she pushed past it to see where her home should be behind it.  
Her hand burned as it pressed against the burning building, clutching at the charred frame as she tried to catch herself from tripping. Over what, she didn't know anymore, but she made the mistake of looking down to investigate, and tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled her foot back from a bone. They didn't keep animals at this home, and she knew what the long bone meant. She sniffed back the tears as she pushed on, shaking her burning hand as her mind flashed with the memory of a large man rushing at her with a sword held high over his head. Screaming out in the midst of his clan's adrenaline fuelled slaughter as he rampaged the same as the others.  
Even in her present body, her eyes stung against the sensation of the smoke, and emotional pain as the memory continued. He cut down two men on his way to her frozen form, seemingly unstoppable, so what had stopped him from reaching her? She hacked into the air as her lungs tried to expel the smoke filling them, and she fell to her knees, too weak even to steady herself against the force of her own cough, when she saw something peaking out from under a board. Still smoking, where her house once stood, were the smouldering rafters of her home. She remembered her mother repairing some of them with a fallen tree a few years ago, and now they lay in a pile of ash, awkwardly heaped over the few things they kept inside. It called to her, her home, but as her eyes stayed locked on the bright blue fabric burning at it's center, she couldn't bring herself to make the movements. 

Her hands dug into the ground around her as she clenched her burning palms into the soot. Hot tears threatening to evaporate on the spot as they streamed down her cheeks. A pain she never could have imagined tearing through her small, frail body, and she shook against the violent sobs that followed. A single hand reaching forward half-heartedly to the singed fabric that adorned her mother's corpse. And suddenly she remembered why that barbarian hadn't reached her.  
Her mother.

The man was bringing his sword down onto her when her mother threw herself against him. Using what little weight she had to send him off balance, his sword just grazing Stena's chest as he fell back with her protector. And she remembered how the pain of his steel snapped her from her frozen state to rush to her mother's aid. Lunging forward, she latched to his back, holding back his arm that held the weapon while her mother pulled a knife from his belt, and plunged it into his chest. The pushed off the man, grabbing his weapons as they ran, following her mother's lead as they moved towards the outskirts. Their only chance was to make it over the hills to the tree line. Maybe there they could find a place to hide, or move better unseen. They both were struggling to see through the thick clouds of smoke as a pile of hay burned out of control. Feeling their way through the stinging curtain as the constant screams, and pleadings of their tortured neighbours, mixed with the smell of burning wood, and flesh. Both of them fighting through the overwhelming bombardment as their senses were flooded with the worst of man, the byproducts of fear, and greed- destruction. She was trying to calm herself as she felt her mother's hand tighten around hers in an effort to ease her pain, when a large mass barrelled past them in the smoke to their left. Her hand snapped to her mouth to stifle a scream. Not wanting to alert anyone to their presence if they could help it, and her mother stilled too. Waiting for the figure to pass in it's flurry of fire, and pain before squeezing her daughter's hand, and continuing. Stena held tight, and rushed forward with her, but she had barely touched the ground with her second step, when she felt a sudden pain in her right side, and her feet were lifted completely off the ground. Sending her crashing into a nearby house, already aflame like all the others, but this one she recognized to be her own. She fought against the black spots creeping into her vision as her hand reached to her head, pulling it away to see it bright red as her mother's screams rang in her ears.

"Stena!' She muttered out, but a sharp pain in her side stifled her words as her cracked ribs protested the attempt. What had hit her? What had.. She looked up to see the silhouette of another barbarian slowly approaching her mother, and she forced her feet forwards. She didn't care if her head spun, or her body bled, she would reach her mother. She grabbed the sword she had dropped on the ground and lunged forward to him, a sloppy attempt in her dazed state, but she did manage to connect. Slashing at the man's large arm, and he spun towards the source of the pain, reaching out for her throat as she slashed again, this time at his large middle. "Stena, no!" Her mother's cries rang out again as the man's grip tightened around her throat, threatening to plunge her into complete darkness, before her mother was on his back. Plunging her stolen dagger into him repeatedly as he dropped her daughter, crying out at the sudden assault.

"Ahgh! You bitch!" He spat out as he spun around to her, holding out his own sword as he faced his attacker. Stena looked up from her place on the ground, the fire that was engulfing their home danced around them, consuming everything as it lit the horrifying scene taking place before her. 

"You shall not harm my daughter." The woman's voice rang out strong, and sure. A deadly confidence in her posture as she wielded the weapon in her healing hands. Stena had always known her mother as the kind and compassionate healer, unwavering and indiscriminate in her service to the people. But as the flames flickered around them, illuminating the face of her mother, she saw now the fierce protectiveness of a woman who had fomented a rebellion. Who had once fought for her people, and now fought for her daughter's life. "Stena. Get up. Run!" Stena struggled to rise, her vision still splotchy as the red pouring from her head now dripped into her eyes, but she managed to bring herself to her feet. She couldn't however, bring herself to move them away from her mother. She felt her life draining from her, exhaustion looming over her as she realized this was no small injury to her head. There was no way she could make it out of here on her own, but her mother could. She could still survive this. A fire seemed to catch within her as she summoned what little energy she had left and lunged forward. Screaming at the man as she plunged the heavy sword into his back, running it right through him. He yelled in agony and swung a massive arm around, instinctively trying to swat away the offender, and he sent her flying back to the ground. Her eyes rolling back at the impact as she heard her mothers voice once more. "No! Daughter, no!" Stena watched as her mother lunged forward to finish the man, slicing his throat as he fell to his knees, and she felt a morbid sense of pride at her mother's strength. Somehow, she always seemed to be able to summon the strength, and courage do what needed to be done. And this day would be no exception.  
Stena smiled up at her mother, the thought of her being able to run to safety, bringing her peace in what she was sure were to be her final moments. Her heart filled as her mother looked back down at her, and she opened her mouth to urge her on.

"I cannot mother, I- I am sorry but please, I beg of you to go on without me." The woman was already down at the ground, cradling her daughters head, and she felt a sting where she must have been applying pressure to the split in her skull, surely in vain. "Please, go.." she weeped out, but her mother only shushed her pleas. 

"Such strength in such a little child. No my love, I will carry you if I must, but we will leave this place together." Stena's eyes stung as her mother's words brought forth tears. To this day, she had never felt so loved as she had in that tragic moment. It was as though they both knew they would not leave that place alive, but however they did manage to part from this terror, it would be together. Stena reached her hand up to touch her mother's cheek, wiping away a tear that had broken free from her watery eyes. The large brown orbs as rich, and warm as the Earth that burned beneath them.  
Her vision began to falter, but she felt her mother's grip tighten around her as her whole body jerked. Her screams piercing her ears as she felt her being pulled away from her. Her eyes fluttered open to see her mother behind hauled to her feet by her hair. A terrifyingly large man gripping it tightly as he motioned with a sword to the dead barbarian at their feet.

"You did this? You wicked woman!" 

"No.. ple.. please.." Stena's words barely tumbled from her mouth as she tried, and failed, to rush once more to her mother's aid. She watched on as her mother spat into the man's face, muttering obscenities at him as he jerked her head back, his other hand pulling a knife from his side. Stena watched as he brought the knife to her throat, the realization dawning on her, that she was witnessing her mother's final moments, and she felt a sense of calm washed over her as those dark eyes locked onto hers. Projecting all the strength, and calm that she could muster onto her daughter, leaving no room for fear to creep in as she gazed lovingly at her precious saq'varelo. 

"Stena, my heart, I love y.." The raider dragged his blade across her throat. Cutting her words short as he flung her body back towards the burning house, the walls collapsing upon her, and he turned back.

"Stena? Is it?" She could feel herself fall apart on the inside, but she would give nothing to this animal. She may not have been able to put up any worthy type of fight, but she would never give him the satisfaction of seeing her break. He stomped towards her, grabbing her just as he had her mother, and dragged her across the ground in the opposite direction before bringing her too, to her feet. He eyed her up and down, and seeing the life already leaving her, must have decided he wouldn't get the reaction he wanted out of her. 'Hmph." He huffed at her, and with that, she felt what she was sure would be her last Earthly experience, as a blade plunged into her guts. "You can join the bitch in the fire." And her vision faded to black as she felt herself fall backwards into a fiery tomb, flames surrounding her as she welcomed the pain that would bring her her peace.

But it hadn't, had it. She didn't wake to her relatives in the afterlife, she woke to the pile of ash, and still smouldering coals that had consumed her village, and everyone she knew with it. Staring at that blue fabric, she could no longer bare the memory of it, and shut her eyes tight as she let the tears flow freely. Her hands travelled across her body. To the matted mess of blood in her hair that somehow seemed to be missing the injury of its origin, to the nonexistent cuts that should stretch across her chest, and abdomen. None of it made sense. None of it. She opened her eyes to the sky, looking up for some kind of answer, or guidance, no longer sure where in this world she could turn to for that anymore. All of the ones she held dear now resided up there, and somehow, she had been left behind.

She pulled her mind from the memory, and looked up at the same sky, her eyes filling with tears now just as she had then, and looked out at the field ahead. Once the home of her people, then their final resting place, she had bought the land the moment she could to keep it just like this. Just as she remembered it. The only change being the modest home she built on the hill so she could enjoy the land, and the closeness it brought her to her people for the remainder of her years. But as she took in the landscape, lush and teeming with life, she remembered the images that had been burned into her mind so many years ago. The flames spreading across the hills at night, the cooling embers permeating the chill of the morning, and, the feelings.. This was more than a memory, it was the moment that sparked her powers, that started her on the path she's been travelling down since. When she woke that next day, the lone, somehow unscathed survivor of the purge that had befallen her village, she began the discovery of just how she'd managed that. She had clearly remembered being killed, the heat of the fire burning her as she slipped into darkness. Yet she awoke unharmed. 

She recalled how she wandered away from the destruction, letting her feet take her over the hill to the tree line, where she and her mother had attempted to flee in the first place. She remembered bits of stumbling to the home of the lepers they had visited earlier that day, how they brought her into their home, and watched over her as she rested. It was five days before she finally woke. Her body had spent so much energy healing her, it needed the time to rest and recuperate, and when she did, she felt a rage building within her like she'd never experienced before. Her need for vengeance, to see her loved ones avenged by burying every last one of those bastard barbarians taking over any rational thought.  
And she had done exactly that. 

A breeze brought with it the crisp smell of the evening air, filling her lungs in a cleansing way as her body began to find it's balance, and her mind urged her to ponder on the memories it had brought forth. She had thought of them for a reason. Her subconscious urging her to draw some kind of useful conclusion. Only hours ago, she had nearly caused this field to claim even more lives in her arrogant carelessness, letting her powers consume her like she had when she was young, and just learning to wield them.  
Those memories were for another time, for now, it was her origins that must have been most important, what spurred them on in the first place. It had been a moment of such great tragedy, and intensity, bringing forth feelings of pain, and loss like she'd never experienced, awakening her abilities so they might come forth to save her. An act of self preservation. And her first experience with healing herself.  
It was also the first time in her life that she felt truly lost. No control, no direction, no understanding even of her own existence. And it was this uncertainty, the naivety, that hurled her into dark and vengeful start of her career. 

She noted the similarities between that time in this. The way her previously unknown powers came so forcibly into the spotlight, she had no choice but to learn, and learn quickly. And she felt this case was very much the same. After so many years of honing her skills, she had learned to fine-tune her abilities on nearly every level, and it was truly impressive the things she could do. But somehow, the introduction of these two men was sending her completely off course. Imbalanced. Like everything she thought she had already known about herself was now being questioned. Just like the young adolescent waking in a pile of ash. And she was starting to realize that to regain her control, would mean, not only acknowledging, but accepting, just how little of it she truly had. 

Her entire life thus far -whether she was in the mood for a careful, or precarious way of living- was still only ever her life, no one else's. Now though, she would finally have to make permanent room for others on this narrow path she'd groomed for herself. Widen the walkway, and with it, maybe her possibilities.  
Stena knew what she would have to do. She had to let them in.  
Open herself up to the new possibilities, and way of life that they could bring her. And perhaps, the more she opened herself, the more she eased into the idea of losing that carefully crafted sense of control, the closer she might get to a better way of life to replace it. The one that was meant for her.  
But breaking over two thousand years of bad habits wasn't exactly going to be easy. Nor was the level of honesty, and trust she would have to show them to achieve that. 

She heard a rustling in the home behind her, and turned her ear ever so slightly towards it as she listened to Steve's careful steps take him down the stairs. Thor groaning to life as they registered with him as well. 

"Well, now's as good a time as any, I suppose.." She sighed as she spoke to herself encouragingly, lifting off the ground, and brushed the bits of grass from her blanket as she made her way towards the house. 

4th

"Have you seen her?" She could hear Steve's voice in the living room, questioning Thor.

"No, I- yaaawwn -I just woke myself.." She turned the handle to the back door, drawing their attention to her as she entered, answering Steve's question for him. And Thor sat up straight when he realized it was her, hurrying to stand as Steve himself straightened his posture. Which she couldn't help but smile at, their reflexive reactions to stand for the lady in the room. It warmed her.

"Lady Stena." Thor acknowledged her, Steve nodding along as she shed the blanket from her shoulders. Her quiet eyes taking them in as she felt herself still deep within her previous thoughts, and the men noticed.

"Stena are you, alright?" It was Steve's cautious voice that spoke, but she could feel the concern radiating off them both. 

"I'm alright, I'm, well.." She gave a quiet chuckle, only confusing them as she moved towards them with a few careful steps, continuing. "I'm alright, but I could be better. I believe we all could be." Two sets of confused eyes glanced at each other before looking back at her expectantly, waiting for her to elaborate on exactly what she meant by that, and she met them with a comforting smile. "We should all have a talk." 

....................

Considering the events of the day, the night was passing with ease.  
Their conversation after she came in was thankfully brief, but satisfying. She had apologized again for what happened earlier, which of course was brushed off by them both, but even the next, more difficult part had been done rather painlessly. She explained to them how she had spent their nap time reflecting. Firstly on her powers, and obvious lack of control around them -which she swore she would do everything she could to fix so she wouldn't run the risk of hurting them ever again- but they once again only replied dismissively, trying to ease her guilt. It wasn't until she segwayed into her second point that they seemed to engage more. An eager aura coming off of them both as they leaned in to her words. Listening intently as she explained how her lack of control wasn't just the problem, but also, she thought, the solution.  
She explained how she believed she needed to learn to let go. This situation of theirs -while new, and scary, even confusing- could also be a source of growth, and she needed to embrace, rather than fight that. She believed the reason her powers were so difficult to control with them, was that she was doing just that, trying to control them, to control herself. But if she was to properly get to know them, to give this new life a chance, she would have to learn to relinquish that control, and just 'lean in,' to whatever came their way. 

"New territory is always uncomfortable," she recalled how she had begun, "but only because it isn't known, and the unknown makes people uncomfortable.. I'm.. I'm willing to make that journey into this, unknown territory. Because as fearful as I may be of the outcome, I know it's necessary."

"Necessary for what?" Thor's voice had questioned. 

"For a different kind of.. for a better life." They both had nodded along understandingly at her words. Each of them wanted to try this new life, for their own reasons. And difficult as it would be, each of them with their own bad habits to kick, they were willing. 

She had went on to explain some of her history, feeling it was only fair to start with a show of good faith. Though she left out some more specific details, telling herself it would just take too long to get into it all, but really, she wasn't quite ready to share it all just yet. So she told them her half truths. Mostly explaining her struggles to control her powers in her youth, but leaving out how those years were spent as a mercenary, embracing the surge of the power the fury of battle brought her. As well as the relative wording of her "youth." Of course it was young years, for her, but youth meant maybe a couple decades for a human, not a couple centuries..  
So she began by opening half of herself. But they knew there was more.

Thor and Steve sat with her at the table, filling their empty stomachs with the lovely pasta dish Stena had put together for them. Though Thor seemed to be struggling with the concept of twirling the pasta with his spoon, something Steve tried to help him with a few times, unsuccessfully. And a smile spread across her face as she watched Steve make probably his fourth attempt to help Thor hold the spoon still while he spun the fork full of spaghetti. 

"No, no, you hold this one still, it just helps keep the pasta on the fork.." But with a jerky flick of his wrist, he only succeeded in flinging red sauce across the table top, Stena's laugh at Thor's wide, apologetic eyes booming through the room as Steve hung his head in resignation. "I, I give up.."

"Oh what does it matter! At least I wasn't making a mess before!" Her laughter picked up as Thor dropped the spoon, smiling at her reaction to his antics, as he officially gave up on what he considered to be a very unnecessary utensil. 

"I suppose.." Steve agreed. And moved to take Stena's empty plate up to the sink with his own. "Thanks again for cooking for us." And she waved him off as she caught her breath.

"Don't mention it. I was happy to ensure a palatable meal made its way to the table." He smiled back at her, pushing his chair back as he stood, and Thor spooned the last bit of food quickly into his mouth. Adding his plate to the pile as Steve moved past him, wiping his scruff with a napkin. 

"And truly, Lady Stena, it was. That was a wonderful Midguardian meal." Her laughter was dying down, but the pleasant feeling in her chest wasn't, moved by his compliment. 

"Anytime Thor, I actually quite enjoy cooking. Especially when it's for people who appreciate it." She gave him a wink as she pushed back on her own chair. "Should I put a coffee on?" Thor didn't react much to the request, but Steve's head shot up to her from his place at the sink. Obviously a coffee man. "It should be ready by the time we're done clearing up.. I could set out some desserts, maybe get the cards out?" A big smile spread across Steve's face -memories of his mother doing the same flooding back to him- and Thor looked over to him for unspoken advice, not used to this human, after-dinner ritual. He met the fellow blonde's questioning look with a subtle nod.

"That sounds amazing." He beamed at her, and Stena smiled at the eagerness. Excited to have her own interests shared, and became committed to making sure this was the best coffee, and cakes they had ever had. "Where's your coffee pot? I can help you.."

"Oh no, no, no." Stena mumbled as she moved towards the kitchen. "You won't find one of those here." She returned his confused look with a mischievous smirk as she reached into one of the cupboards behind him. "Have either of you gentlemen ever had Turkish coffee?" They exchanged a look, and shake of their head before turning back to her, and she smiled even larger at the thought of being the lucky gal to introduce them to it. "Well, you're in for a treat." They raised their eyebrows, sharing another knowing look that matched her own mischievous tone.

"We'll be the judges of that." Thor winked, and she turned back to her coffee set to get it ready. Her loving smile reflecting back in the silver of the tray beneath her, and she could feel the air around them starting to change. All of their interactions so far, as polite and understanding as they'd all been, were just that, too polite. There had been an air of restraint hanging over every interaction. So to have this moment of such easy, domestic bliss -Thor wiping the table behind her, as Steve filled the sink to do dishes, her own hands busied with prepping their coffee, and sweets- it made her heart sore.  
And she couldn't help but start to feel hopeful that they would have more of these easy moments.

....................

Stena poured out another cup of coffee into Steve's cup as he thanked her. Thor popping another one of the Turkish delights in his mouth as he hummed into the flavour.

"Oh my, Lady Stena.." She stopped the pour and turned to him, waiting. "This truly was the best coffee I've ever had. I have had it before but, not like this, and with all this!" He motioned at the spread of treats in front of them -from the baklava, and Turkish delights, to the shortbread and brittle- it was a delicious spread of her many favourites, and she was happy they shared them. "This is a lovely human ritual. We have many feasts on Asgard, sometimes lasting for days.. but I love having a meal, and then following it with another!" He sighed satisfyingly as he reached for a piece of peanut brittle. "I'm so happy!" Steve, and Stena burst out laughing at the innocent expression. 

"Well I'm glad." She spoke between laughs. "Now pick up those cards. I think the only reason you're not getting this game is you keep eating when we're trying to explain it.." 

"Oh, of course.. Crib." He picked the cards up with an expression of mock seriousness. Pretending to be giving it his utmost attention as Steve shook his head with a smile. 

"Now do you remember what we'd said?" Steve questioned, his words trialing off in her mind as she became lost in the moment.

Their night had been going so well, it was almost unbelievable. Even on her best day, she had never imagined it could be so effortless, that no matter what seemed to happened, they would all seem to be able to slide back into normalcy like it was nothing. Like drinking coffee, and playing card games was just their every day.  
Her eyes flitted between them as their exchange continued. Bickering, and yanking cards from one another's hands as Thor tried to steal from Steve to better his own. Steve quickly snatching them back as he tried to explain the ones Thor had were actually better. And she felt her heart warm as she watched them. Like that time she'd drank all that Mongolian wine in the fifties, well, the twelve fifties actually. She hadn't known many men who could hold their liquor like Kublai, and her chest had practically been on fire by the end of the night. But this was different. This wasn't drinking games with a warlord, it was coffee and cakes with her soulmates. A stark contrast, and she almost felt a pang of sadness that that was the memory she had to compare it to. Her life had been far too many moments of fear, and fighting, and not nearly enough like this. So she revelled in the warmth spreading through her, looking lovingly on at her two men as they bickered like brothers. 

"Alright, enough of this stupid human game. I have an Asgardian one we can play.. it's calle Grimshtiple!" Steve, and Stena shared a look of doubt, but Thor didn't give them much chance to argue as he snatched their cards from them, reshuffling the deck as he went on to explain it. "You see we play on our own, but there's also a chance you could be on a kind of, secret team.." he wiggled his eyebrows as Stena offered a couple of ominous oohs and ahhs. "So you'll each get eight cards, well, I get nine because I've dealt them.. better chance at finding the Grim!"

"Well that hardly seems fair.." Steve half-joked as Thor continued to deal them.

"I see why it would seem that way.. but, if I get the Grim, I can't be on the secret team either.. so sort of balances it out."

"Ah, well in that case.."

"Yes! See, the Captain is already getting it." His smile spread so wide it crinkled his eyes now, and Steve's followed suit. "Now Stena will go first, since she's at my left. We go clockwise you see.. then once we've all laid our first card, we get to pick another. Now this is where it gets interesting, if you pull a royal card.. or, I believe you call it a 'face card,' you slam it down and get to claim the Grim! So if someone hasn't revealed it by then, you get to take it from them!"

"Why wouldn't they just say it right away then?" Steve asked, confusion plastered permanently across hi face as Thor spoke.

"Because there's always a chance someone won't get one, and then you can use it later.." The men both whipped their heads towards her at her words. Not sure whether they should be confused, or impressed at her strange understanding. "I uh, I think I once played something similar, back in the day.." she stammered out quickly, trying to offer some excuse for her knowledge.

"Yes." Thor pondered on it for a moment. "Every now and then an Asgardian would take a bit of a vacation on another realm, and Earth was often a popular choice. I mean, worst case scenario, we just showed off some powers and were revered as Gods." He smiled at Stena, but she missed the way it failed to reach his eyes. As well as the glance he shot at Steve.

"Makes sense I suppose." Steve picked up, returning Thor's look out the side of his eye as he placed another card in his hand. "So, Stena.." Her big brown eyes darting up to him with such joy, he almost didn't want to say what he was about to, but he had caught the meaning behind Thor's look. "Where did you even learn this game?"

"Oh, um, hmm.." He watched as her eyes fell to her cards, a subtle drop on the corners of her mouth. "I think in Norway, this old man was trying to teach me.." She smiled emptily as she looked back to her cards. The men kept their eyes to their own hands, not needing to exchange anymore looks as they went forward.

"It would make sense.." Thor added. "The Norse people were most influenced by us. I must say though, it's been some time since anyone's been there, I'm surprised the game has survived."

"Yeah, no kiddin'. Did the old guy ever tell you where he'd learned it from?" She glanced up at him. "It just seems pretty impressive to be able to stick around, I thought, maybe it stayed in a family or something?"

"I uh, can't recall.." her empty smile returning again as she tried to sort her cards and maneuver through her 'half-truth.' "It was so long ago, who can say."

"How long ago?" Thor interjecting now as he rearranged a few cards. Giving her a question that required a more direct answer. Something she couldn't dance around so easily.

"Um, not sure." She muttered. She was well aware of the irony, having just told them earlier how she wished to be honest, but she had also told them it would take time and patience. She didn't want to tell her little 'half truth,' it felt heavy as it passed her lips. But she wasn't ready to tell a story about her time in Norway, that opened another can of worms regarding her true age, which would no doubt open yet another about the full extent of her powers, and so on, and so on. It was dizzying thinking of all different things she was holding back, but as much as she'd like to relieve herself of all these mental burdens, she wanted to do it right. On her own time.

"Well, roughly.." And their persistence wasn't exactly allowing her that. Come to think of it, their persistence, wasn't allowing her much room at all. And it suddenly occurred to her how odd it was that they should be so interested in some obscure card game from Norway. Especially since the questions weren't even about the game, so much as the time she'd learned it. She shifted in her seat as she realized what they were up to. 'Trying to force my hand hmm?'

"If you want to know my age so damn badly, just come out with it." They looked up at her a little sheepishly as she went on. "You're not nearly as sneaky as you think." It was their turn to shift a little uncomfortably now as they met her eyes, each taking a deep breath as they sighed out into the quiet room. And it was Thor who broke it, setting his cards face down on the table as he looked at her downcast face, patiently waiting for her to meet his gaze before continuing. And as she brought her dark eyes up to his, the hint of defiance underneath them, he tried to make his as gentle as possible as he spoke.

"My Lady, Stena. How old are you?"

"Why does it matter, so, much.." Her defeated tone not going unnoticed, and they couldn't help but wonder why this was so exhausting for her. Had she not been the one to preach honesty earlier? After all, it was new to all of them, and after their earlier talk, they thought she might be happy to share, excited even. Neither had expected this level of pushback, which they had to admit, hurt them a little to know she would still rather keep things bottled up than just answer a simple question. And apparently Steve was going to be the impatient one who told her so. 

"I don't want to speak for Thor, but I think it's safe to say, neither of us understand you're need to be so secretive." She opened her mouth to speak but he held up a hand as he continued. "I mean, I do understand your need in the past. You've stayed very successfully, off the grid, and I'm sure that level of commitment makes for some hard habits to break, but.. but if this really is going to have a chance at working, if you really want it to, you can't keep treating us like every other person you meet." Her chest rose, and fell rather heavily as she took in his words. A sudden guilt washing over her. 

"We don't look to make you uncomfortable." Thor added. "But as you said yourself, 'it's only uncomfortable because it's unknown', and, I believe, also necessary.." She smirked at his phrasing.

"Clever boy. Trying to use my own words against me." He chuckled at the praise, but sensed the finality of her words even through the humour.

"Well, it was worth a shot.." He picked his cards back up, motioning for Steve to do the same. "We'll just play though for now, these talks can wait for another ti.."

"I was born in '84." She spat out. Interrupting Thor's annoyingly kind diversion, and she watched as their faces relaxed a little. Thankful she had spoken, and pretending to be satisfied with the obvious half-truth. She saw through the faux appreciation, and though she tried to be annoyed by their questioning her, she couldn't help but feel moved by their attempts to keep her comfortable. Nodding their heads with the odd hum of approval as they pretended to return their focus to their cards, and she practically slammed hers down. Her eyes rolling back as she sighed out in defeat. 

"Oh it can't be that bad.." Steve offered. "What is it, not nineteen eighty-four, so what? Eighteen, seventeen, Hell, thirteen eighty-four? You know we aren't going to care. We wouldn't share the information either if it was something you wanted kept private, we just.."

"We just don't want you to feel like you have to be so damned secretive." 

"I mean, yeah." She looked at the big puppy dogs sitting at the table with her, and sighed again.

"Fine, no more half-truths." She muttered, eyes looking hopefully up to them, and her next words barely came out as a whisper. "Four, eighty-four.." 

"Oh." Thor shrugged it off. "So he was close after all, fourteen eighty-four. Don't worry m' Lady, I'm still older. And you don't look a day over five hundred!" She laughed at his misunderstanding, but appreciated the levity none the less.

"No, Thor, I don't think she meant fourteen.. I think I just heard, four. You were born in the year 484... AD?" He looked at her with wonder, hardly believing what he was hearing as her gaze fell down once more, almost embarrassed as she answered.

"Uh, B.. BC.." 

Silence. 

Both of them likely doing the mental math, Thor also probably trying to remember the difference between the two time stamps. But she could feel their eyes burning into her. Their curiosity maybe? But the silence had become deafening. Her own insecurities screaming out, filling every moment the men failed to speak with a new, and ever worsening reason for their refusal to address her, or worse, the potential repercussions of them sharing this precious info. She couldn't take it anymore. And as she looked at their shocked faces, that was it. Panic set in as she shoved her chair back, dragging it roughly against the floor boards as she pushed away from the table. Away from them, and her embarrassment. 

"Stena don't.." Steve reached a hand out to her as she stood, the pained look on her face causing a similar feeling to rip through his chest, and they both stood as she rushed off. He wanted to follow her up the stairs, but knew better, and stood still, holding out an arm to stop Thor from doing the same. "No, let her go.."

"Steve we can't just.."

"Yes, we can." He hung his head as his hands rested on the table. "We pushed her too much. And then didn't react how she hoped."

"But I don't understand.." Thor shook his head as his eyes scrunched against the whole situation. "I mean, I understand she likely hasn't told anyone living her true age, but a couple thousand years is no big deal as far as I'm concerned. She's only a few hundred years older than me.. on Asgard, that's like being a few years older." Steve had to shake his head at that, his fingers finding his temples as he thought on it. 'There really will always be something new, hmm?' His dangerous, glowing soulmate, was only a few hundred years older than his friend whom he shared her with. 

"Good grief.." he muttered. 

"What?"

"Never mind.. but look, Thor, a couple thousand years may not mean much to you, but you have to understand, that's pretty unreal for a human."

"Of course, but, she's no ordinary human. Eventually she would have realized she wasn't aging, and adjusted her mentality. I mean.. yes it's a long time, but I've lived nearly just as long. I even had to prepare to rule a kingdom, battle on other planets.. you've no idea what I've experienced in my fifteen hundred years of.."

"But you were prepared for it." Steve interrupted him. "Look, I know what it's like to wake up in another time, and have one new thing thrown at you after another.. Which I can assure you, I could not have ever been prepared for." Thor started to calm as he listened. "And yes, you're right, at some point she would have started to accept that she'd be around for the long haul, but you had one thing she didn't.. your people." Thor's tense jaw began to relax as he realized what Steve was saying. Sure Thor had lived a long time by human standards, most of it battling for some thing or another, but he had gone through every trial with his fellow warriors, his friends, and always returned home to a land of people just like him. Stena didn't have even a fraction of that. "We've both had hard lives, in our own ways, but, at least to me.. the thought of living while everyone I know and loves dies around me.." He shook his head again. "Neither one of us, regardless of our own personal experience, could ever come close to understanding how much loss, and loneliness that woman has felt." And a calm fell over them as a piece of her massive puzzle started to fall into place.

"You're right.." he mumbled back sheepishly. "I can't imagine going through my life alone. Continuing to fight for a people that don't even know I exist, no praise, no glory.. only a solitary life of secrecy." He slumped back against a wall, arms crossing in frustration. "We shouldn't have pushed it." The men nodded along with each other, and Thor felt something within him shift. "Steve. If it takes her years to trust us, to truly trust us, we have to give her that.." And they nodded again. An understanding forming between them, as they started to truly understand that they really were in this together.  
Steve clapped his hand on the man's back, acknowledging the moment of solidarity, and it seemed to send Thor to the kitchen. 

"Where are you going?"

"To look for some ale.. this day has been long." Steve chuckled. Somehow Thor always managed to bring things back down, and he had to admit he was thankful to have him here with him. 

"I doubt you'll find anything here that could even come close to putting a dent in us."

"No, I suspect you're right." He opened the fridge, pulling two bottles of beer out, and walking back towards the Captain. "But it's more about the idea, isn't it?" Steve took his beer from him, twisting the top off quickly as they clinked them together. 

"I suppose you're right." And with that, neither wasted another moment before downing their drink.

"So I'm already driving you both to drink, hmm?" Their heads couldn't turn fast enough. The woman standing in the doorway causing them to sputter into their drinks as she caught them off guard. And she couldn't help but laugh a little internally at the cute little moment she'd interrupted. 

"It's not as bad as that.." Steve offered back a little sheepishly. His eyes looking down with a blush as he worried about putting any more unnecessary guilt on her, and she tried to keep her words light in reply.

"I'm just surprised you guys would go for it.. I assumed being a God, and a super soldier.." She smirked as the thought of that combination passed through her mind. "It just doesn't really do much for me, but if it works for you.." She conceded a little absentmindedly. Not noticing their strange look to one another -which had become quite the motif between the two when it came to her- but in the lull of their inner thoughts, she went on. "I apologize for stomping off like a child.." her tone changing to one a little more thoughtful, and held a hand up to stop them as their mouths were already opening to dispel her worries, "I did. It is what it is, you don't need to coddle me." She took pause on those words before adding on. "Actually, I'd appreciate it more if you called me out on that kind of thing, just, just be honest with me." Her eyes falling a moment as she found the courage to continue on. "And speaking of honesty, I haven't been, and I'm ashamed for it." She shot them both a look that said, 'don't you dare try to coddle me again' and went on. "I preached honesty, then fed you half-truths to keep you satisfied, but it felt empty didn't it? And that's on me.. So I think it's time I just bit the bullet."

"We were speaking too.." Thor began softly, "and we don't want you to feel uncomfortable. So speak your truths when you want, but if it's too difficult, then take your time.."

"We can wait." She smiled at their honesty. The vulnerability encouraging her to offer a little more of her own. And they must have seen it coming, her hand twitching against the doorframe as she took a hesitant step towards them, just to fall back nervously into the safety of the door jam. But she took a breath to steady herself, remembering all that strength her mother had once spoke so highly of, and looked up to meet their gaze.

"You just, you have to understand my reservations." She began, her soulmates nodding back in unison, sensing that her words were about to mirror their earlier conversation. "You could never imagine what it's like to go through life, lifetimes, patching up one fumble of humanity after another, only to watch it continue to tear itself apart over greedy, pointless, ambitions. I.. if I'm being honest, I never expected I would even meet one of my soulmates, let alone both at the same time. I was preparing to let myself age out when Stark contacted me.. hence why I didn't care about his ambitions anymore than any other man who's approached me over the years. He only found me in the first place because I let myself get sloppy.." she could feel herself getting off track, "I'm just. I'm just so, so tired.." She could feel the tears begin to well in her eyes. "To think I was at the point in my life where I might finally be allowed to die, only to be thrown such a a monumental curveball, it's.. Gods.. it's overwhelming! Terrifying even." She couldn't fight the tears back anymore, and she blinked against them as they began to fall down her hot cheeks. Flushed with embarrassment at her vulnerable, emotional moment.  
She was bringing her hands up to cover her face when she heard the floorboards creak, practically shaking as they both rushed to her, tossing chairs, and table aside to leave the dining area a wreck as they reached out to take her protesting hands. Steve to her right, and Thor to her left, she looked up at them through blurry eyes. Each of them placing a hand on her shaky body. while the other held one of hers. It would have seemed dramatic, overwhelming even to someone looking on, but for Stena who could feel the emotions coming through from them, it was anything but. Their strong hands feeding her their energy as they gripped hers, both of them trying desperately to show her nothing but strength, and comfort. Shoving down their own worries or fears, in an almost primal need to make her feel safe. And for the first time since her childhood, she started to feel that selfless love once again.  
Her breath caught as she took in this intimate moment. Their emotions coming to her in waves as they kept near, and she could feel her own trying to move through their touch to them as well. Thor's free hand held tightly to her side, his fingers massaging into her as he tried to soothe her pain while Steve's hand rose to wipe the tears from her cheek. She sniffed as she tried to stifle another tear, and the embarrassment of it all came flooding back to her. 

"Oh Gods, I'm.. sniff.. I'm fine I swear I just.." 

"That's enough." Steve's voice cut through her ramblings.

"You're not fine." Thor continued, lifting her chin to look up at them. "And you don't have to speak, just.." 

"Know we're here." 

And her head dropped again, strong arms pulling her in as years of pent up tears spilled gently out onto their shirts. Her gentle sobs muffled into their shoulders as she held them tightly, her own emotions so strong, it was almost overshadowing the ones she could feel coming off of them. And she realized, amidst her hazy state, that she was being given an opportunity for real honesty. 

She inhaled deeply, breathing out through pursed lips as she freed her hands from theirs, looking up to each of them as she ran those hands up their chests. They seemed confused but of course allowed it, not sure where it was going, but instinctively trusted she knew what she was doing. And she prepared to let them in. Her powers rushing to her fingertips as she neared the exposed skin above their shirt collars, sending the first waves of herself to meet them as she continued on. And by the time her hands reached their quiet, concerned faces, they seemed to understand what was happening.

"It's.. it's just so much easier than words." She muttered, and they each nodded their consent. Placing a hand of their own over hers as they urged her on. And she let her emotions flow through to them. Nearly buckling them at the knees as their free hands moved out to her more as a necessity this time, looking to her to steady them as they found their feet. Waves of foreign emotion running through them -fear, of exposing herself, and the uncertainty of their reactions- sorrow, at the losses she had suffered, and the thought that they too might join the list- and for a moment, they struggled to breath at the heaviness. She sensed this, and pulled back a bit, helping them right themselves as she continued in a new direction, and their eyes widened in amazement yet again as a new wave washed over them. But this time, rather than shock at her sorrow, it was awe at her strength, as they felt the emotions of her hope for the future, their future. A glimpse into her heart, and soul as she showed them how she hoped to turn all those earlier, pained feelings, into better ones. No more sorrow, or fear of loss, only cherishing the moments she had. No more fear of opening herself up, but hope that she would be accepted. No more waiting for the end to come, but enjoying the journey.

Her fingers fluttered against their skin as her nerves began to falter, only slightly, but they caught it quickly. Tightening their hold on her hands as they pulled her in even tighter, leaving no room left between any of them. As if they could somehow leave no room for her doubts as well. Her hands fell to their chests, the warmth coming off of each of her men warming her to the core. "I'm not sure if you could make sense of that but.."

"We uh- ahem- I think we did.." Steve's voice cracking as he tried to maintain that show of strength for her. Thor choosing to just remain silent as he continued to digest her heavy emotions rather than risk his own tumbling through the floodgates. Opting instead to lean his head down to hers, his hand cradling at the nape of her neck as he placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. His own heart too full to allow his mind to find the right words, and her dark eyes looked up to him in thanks before leaning her head towards Steve as well, resting into his neck. And they all just, rested there for a moment.

Steve could feel how his chest swelled with emotion for the woman laying against it, and instinctively tightened his grasp across her back, the other hand, resting on Thor's shoulder as they shared yet another meaningful look. Despite having said just as much earlier, this look was different, more definitive. Maybe the lingering effects of her powers still granting them the ability to sense one another's true feelings, whatever it was, but they could feel how these three hearts seemed to be meant to beat as one. And they couldn't explain it, but any sense of possessiveness, or competition they had once felt to one another, seemed to be washed away by those waves of emotions she'd sent crashing down on them. She was their soulmate. Theirs. To deny how right it felt to call her that, would be to deny fate, and if they truly were all fated to meet at this same point in time, then these men were just as meant to be in one another's lives. Thor raised an arm as well to mirror Steve's gesture, and clasped him firmly. Solidifying the bond he too felt. They weren't just her soulmates, good friends even, they were brothers. And whatever stumbles they may make along the way, they'd remember to work through it together.  
The three of them were in it for the long haul.

....................


	7. Tighten Up

"So it looks like it hasn't seen any activity in three months." Romanov echoed out into the room, sending a piece of info from her pad to the center screen for everyone to see.

Their regular group had just shuffled in. Filling out the conference room for a briefing on what Natasha considered to be a promising prospective Hydra raid. She watched as each of them picked a chair at scattered parts of the room, and was thankful. It made it feel like there were more of them this way. Ot at least, made certain absences less noticeable..

"And before that?" Banner queried.

"Well from what we can tell, it seems to have a pattern of activity every six months -and even then it's only a skeleton crew that moves through- so we should be good for a bit."

"And it's not very big, so I'm guessing it's just an outpost." Stark added, his not so bottled up tension showing through his strained voice as he sent another pic of the building schematic to the front. "There is a small underground section you can see here, but it's not big enough for any substantial research or training, so our guess is storage.. Records." Everyone nodded along as they realized the potential importance. They'd been stagnated for so long, trying to find some decent Hydra leads to follow, but it was all so shallow. So a records depository with who knows how much information, was just too good to pass up. And being so off the grid it was clearly a spot they didn't want anyone to find. "So we're confident it's vacant, smaller, and is housing stuff that's very important to Hydra.. I'd say we can't risk not moving on it." Everybody nodded in agreement. But their careful silence told Tony there was another thought other than total approval edging in their minds. 

"So, we shouldn't need too many people for this.." Banner stated, obviously more of a question though as Natasha smirked at his terrible poker face. And Tony caught it too, his own face contorting for a moment as his mind flashed again to the reason for Banner questioning their numbers. The two that wouldn't be there. And their threatening little reason why.

"I think we'll do just fine without the Capsicle." He snipped. "And Point Break isn't here half the time anyways.." His curt answer giving them all the clear message to drop it, and despite his personal feelings, they knew he was right. Romanov alone could probably handle this, but adding in Stark for the tech support, Clint’s ‘Hawkeye,’ and Sam to help for a lookout on the perimeter, would be plenty. 

Everybody nodded in agreement, and got up to leave. Those who were going on the mission leaving to prep, while the others went back to resume their usual duties. Stark didn't waste any time storming out. Rushing out so quickly to re-immerse himself in something in his lab, he didn't notice the worried touch Wanda gave Vision as he stomped past them. He was just about at the elevator before the distinct hum of Vision's polite interjections made him stop, turning to see the tall man in his plains clothes.  
Man? Yeah, he was confident he could call him that. He may not be flesh and blood like the rest, but Vision was the best of them, and he would always value the man's contributions. Be they on the field, or just his counsel, he was the most consistent bit of stability in their chaotic little family. "Not bad for a murder bot.."

"Mr. Stark.." His even voice hummed into the air. "I wonder if I might have a quick word before the plans for this mission are, set in stone." Tony always found it funny when he heard the idioms coming from him, his polite attempts to be as human as possible so they could find him more relatable. 

"Shoot." 

"I was thinking about what you said, this being a relatively easy mission.."

"You don't agree?"

"No, I do actually, I believe you are right in thinking it will be of little difficulty. I would, however, caution against taking only a few. Romania is rather far away, so in the event that Hydra should decide to suddenly revisit.."

"Ya, I'm aware of the odds." He interrupted, ears burning. "You're not the only one who can run some numbers." Vision straightened slightly at the short-tempered response, but it didn't serve to run him off like Tony probably wanted. If anything, it only served to strengthen his resolve. 

"I understand your frustrations.." Vision began, softening his tone. "And yes, you likely would be successful with only a few.." Tony looked up at him as he went on, relaxing some at Vision's easy words. Even if he did know where it was going. "But it would be wrong of me not to point out that I feel you may be trying to prove a point, rather than make the best possible decisions." Tony's eyes narrowed a little at being called out.

"That's how you feel hmm?"

"It is." Whether he picked up on the irony Tony was trying to put off or not, he wasn't sure, but his cool responses weren't allowing him the big reactions he usually craved. And that would probably always be the one annoying thing about Vision. His inability to feed into Stark's bullshit. "As I said, I understand your frustrations." Tony rolled his eyes at how level the man stayed. "But by leaving me out of the lineup when I've nothing else to do, and taking with you only the non-enhanced members of the team, I can't help but think you're trying to send a message."

"And what do you think that message is-"

"That they're not needed." Vision was already speaking as Tony's last word left his mouth. Not quite cutting him off, but probably the closest thing he'd ever get to an 'emotional outburst,' and he didn't have to wait long for Tony to snip back.

"Of course I need them! Clint, and Nat, Sam, they're some of our best, and just as valuable as anyone else.."

"I wasn't talking about them." 

Vision left him with that. Giving him a subtle nod before resuming his walk down the long hall, leaving Tony alone to ruminate on their conversation. It had been fairly one-sided in Vision's opinion, but he knew it was Stark's style to push back on most advice in the moment. He'd planted the seed though, and was confident the hard headed man wouldn't completely dismiss it. Because stubborn as he was, there was only one reason Stark wanted to do this mission without any 'enhanced' help, the same thing that kept him up in his lab at all hours of the night, tinkering, and brooding. Thor, and the Captain. Their temporary departure to sort things out with their newfound soulmate had been taken as a bit of a betrayal in Tony's eyes. Obviously he would never want to deny them the happiness of finding the love of their life, but to him, he saw the potential for her to be so much more than that. A liability. A threat. And so while he stomped around the compound preaching the 'we don't need them,' hymn to anyone who would dare ask about when they might be coming back, Vision knew he was really voicing his concern. So as difficult as it might be for him to admit, he needed to acknowledge his motivations, and Vis had no problem being the one to push him to it.

"If we get there and the intel's off, I'll call you in.." Tony's voice followed him down the hallway, and he turned back to him to nod his approval. Happy he didn't have to wait to see Tony do something completely reckless before coming to his senses. But while he may have found the compromise for this mission, Vision wasn't naive enough to think the problem had been solved. The Iron Man had a bad habit of hyper-fixating on his problems, and unfortunately, he was fairly confident this one would be much the same. 

....................

Her eyes fluttered open to the sunlight making its way in to her room, laying it's warmth on her like a caring hand as it reached it's fingers through the sheer curtains. Groaning happily into the warm sensation. She let her skin soak it up as she stretched against the plush sheets. Always happy this was one area she didn't pinch pennies on, though, it's not like that was something she really had to concern herself with.. 

"Mmhrm.." She mumbled into her pillowcase. Twisting as she ran her hands up to scratch her head, tousling her hair before stretching those arms out to the space around her. The empty space. And for the first time in ages, a hurt moved through her at that thought. She'd never been much for mush, or sentiment, but laying in her comfortable bed, wrapped up in lush sheets, and a warm glow, should be wonderful. Yet the comfort seemed to have been tempered by the sad reality that she was enjoying this moment all alone. 

That pit of a feeling stayed in her stomach, heavy as her thoughts began to wander towards her men, when she thought she heard a rustling in another room. "Thor's room.." She muttered. Wait, how did she know that for sure? And she realized that bit of connection she made last night might be lingering still. She wondered if the men realized it, but also hoped she wasn't waking them with her melancholy.

Thor twisted his head towards the door of his room, his body following as he responded to the stirrings he was picking up on. He thought he'd heard something, or, ya, heard it.. He'd been lying in bed for a little bit now. It had crossed his mind to just get up, but the house seemed so still he didn't want to risk waking any of them, and decided to just fall back into this ridiculously comfortable bed instead. "Lady Stena certainly does have good taste.." Her whole home had this wonderfully simple, yet elegant air to it, nothing too cluttered or extravagant looking, yet everything was clearly made of the highest quality. And he certainly appreciated it.  
He stretched his arms up to rest them behind his head, the thin sheet falling down his chiseled stomach as his large biceps flexed against their morning aches, providing a brief distraction from his thoughts as he groaned into it.  
Yesterday had been one the most eventful days he'd had in years, and the night, even more so. The only thing proving to be more fascinating, and curious than the woman herself, being her methods. And he remembered the feeling of her own thoughts and emotions rushing through her fingertips to them. His, Stena's, and even Steve's emotions all blending into one. No need to ask a question, or wait for an answer.. the moment one of them thought something, it was like the others minds rushed to offer the matching info, and all of it happening in an instant. He remembered how he'd told Steve about seeing his fair share over fifteen hundred years, but this, this was new.  
One of his hands drifted down to his chest as he thought on it, touching where her fingers had only hours ago as he remembered the wonderful sensation of being one with her. Sigh. The other hand fell down too, but to the empty space next to him, unknowingly mirroring her own movements as he started to feel his melancholy creep in. Wanting to reach out and feel her lying next to him. But how were they going to accomplish that?

He sighed again, a little louder than he meant to, as his mind raced with all the different approaches, possible outcomes.. How in Hel were they going to do this? Are they just going to keep going on like this -each waking in their own bed every morning, or would she take turns sharing theirs- or maybe they'd all share one? He smirked a little guiltily at the thought of that. 'It would certainly be convenient.'  
And it wouldn't exactly be the first time he'd woken up in a massive bed with more than a few other people in it -those good ol' Asgardian feasts. But how comfortable the other two would be with that arrangement, would be another thing entirely. Stena had lived longer than him, and during some of Midgards most barbaric times. So while he didn't want to be inappropriate or presumptuous, he was pretty confident she had lived just as 'full' a life as he had. If not more so. 'There's just something wonderfully, devilish about her..' Another smirk lighting up his face, and he had to catch himself from his mind wandering a little too far away with that one. Snapping back as he remembered that option wouldn't just mean the little devil in his bed chambers, but the Captain too.  
He knew well enough from that brief interchange the three of them shared, that when the moment came, there wouldn't be any issues of jealousy between them. And neither he nor the Captain seemed to show an interest in sharing themselves with anyone other than Stena- but he wondered if it also followed that they wouldn't be willing to share her at the same time?  
He felt that small pang of guilt once again as he realized how much thought he was placing on a very intimate topic. A topic it was hardly his place to make sole decisions on. But surely they would each be thinking the same thing. Right? 

So really, the biggest question to be asked at this point, was who would be the first to bring it up? He doubted it would be Rogers. No, if anything, he was a little worried the Captain had already made up his mind about trying to blend their situation into a more, traditional model. Of course he couldn't be sure, but it was what the man knew after all, what he was used to. So who could blame him?  
He lay there, hands fidgeting against the sheets as his mind spun about with all manner of possibilities, but he kept coming back to one reoccurring theme. Patience. Just as he and Steve had decided to give her the time she needed when it came to her 'trouble trusting', he and Stena would likely have to be patient with him on this. After all -his mind recalling the understanding he and Steve had cemented between them- they're in this for the long haul. Because none of this works, if doesn't work for them all.

A rustling and a sigh from Thor's room got Steves attention, and he sat up. Pushing back the sheets to let them fall around his hips, his bare chest soaking up some of the sun that had been pouring in through the window. He'd been awake for a while, deciding to let them all sleep, and using the time instead to reflect back on their night.  
It had been eventful, but that was pretty par for the course at this point..  
'There's a lot going on in that head of hers..' And he wondered at what he could do to ease some of that worry. Bear some of that weight for her. His mind had been running non stop since he woke up trying to anticipate the next wall she would put up. Telling himself if he could see it coming, he could be ready to help her. Be a step ahead on the next insecurity, trust issue, whatever it was.. And he had to stop to realize how quickly he'd gone all in for this dame. They'd had a few days together, and he was making plans to keep her happy.. what was he going to be willing to do in a few weeks. Years? He wasn't sure on that yet. In fact, all he'd really managed to be sure on while he lay anxiously in bed, was that he didn't want to keep waking up anxious in his bed, alone.. wondering at what was on her mind instead of being able to just roll over and ask her. Another scuffle from Thor brought his thoughts back to the present, and he tossed the sheets to the side. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed as he decided to wonder no more. There was only so much thinking you could do on one subject before you were over thinking the Hell out if it, and he was ready to start the day. His feet touched down on the old hardwood floors, and took a step towards the chair in the corner. Grabbing the fresh set of clothes he'd laid out the night before as he admired its craftsmanship. 'Everything here seems so, well-made..' He marveled.  
He zipped up the khakis with one hand as the other pulled on the comforter. Stopping to set it to rights before pulling on his shirt.. he couldn't not make the bed. The hem was still drifting down to meet his pants as he opened the door, and stepped into the hallway to see Stena doing the same. Flipping her trapped hair out of her shirt collar as she joined the space with him. And he didn't miss the quick raise of her eyebrows as her gaze seemed to flash across him, and his slightly exposed middle. Before he could call her out on her wandering eyes, Thor was joinin them as well. Meeting each of their off-guard glances with one of his own. "Erm, good morning." Thor's greeting making its mumbled way out to them. And Stena couldn't help but notice how up and at 'em they seemed to be already. They really were all just lying in bed waiting for someone to get up weren't they? Or, maybe they were spending the time thinking on their lonely status like she had been. 'Oh Gods..' She cringed internally. And almost on cue, she could feel their own insecurities creep in a bit to mingle with her own. The thought to slink embaressingly back into her room crossed her mind, but remembered that they weren't feeling what she was.. They didn't realize they were all still connected. She had to stop herself from following the connection any further, getting a little caught up, and forgetting she wasn't alone in the hall after all. She was actually standing rather awkward and silent. She glanced up to see them looking on at her a little questioningly, and couldn't help but smile at their funny faces. A laugh escaping her as she shook her head at just how little they knew, and moved to the stairs. Steve watched her disappear, then turned his furrowed brow towards Thor. Both finding themselves wondering, once again, what was going on in that woman's head. .................... "How's it looking down there?" Tony asked, eyes still fixed out the window as Nat turned from the pilot chair of the quinjet to give him his update. Rolling her eyes at his stiff posture. “Nothing is coming up on the scanners.. no life signs, no heat signatures of any kind. I’m not evening getting any signs of power running.” “Alright let’s put it down before we get any closer. We’ll be cautious, leave us a bit of a cushion for our big entrance.” Nat smirked at Clint. They knew all about Stark’s little spat with Vision in the hallway, Hell, they had bets on whether he’d take the advice or go full rebel. And Clint had to scoff as he realized he’d lost. ‘The one time the man doesn’t overreact..” They set the jet down and started their approach on foot. The base was sitting in the center of a massive field, not the most inconspicuous, but it was so far off the beaten path Hydra wasn’t exactly worried about people stumbling across it. Hidden in the Romanian mountains, they were clearly capitalizing on the remote location to hide something. And the Avengers were hoping it was something good. “Not exactly loving the open walk across the big empty field to a Hydra base..” In Sam’s not so subtle opinion. “Well if the intel’s good, we’ve got nothing to worry about.. so let’s make a mile.” They had barely said anything about the mission, but apparently it was still enough to get under Tony’s skin. He just wanted to get in, find the damn info he knew would be there, and get out so he could get back to the tower to rub the successful day in Vision’s face. He was actually running through a few lines for when he made his big entrance, when a subtle whir started to reach his ears. “You hearing that?” Nat asked in a whisper. But they all knew what it was. “Friday, find it.” “On it boss..” They could all hear Friday through their coms as they put some extra pep in their step. Already about halfway across the field when the first hum of electricity firing up the base hit their ears, they were committed now, no running back to the Jet. For all they knew, it was just an automated defence system. Sure, it’d alert Hydra, but they could still get past some computer manned guns and get what they needed first. Tony was already up in the air, racing towards it while Friday helped him search for any external guns to take out. Sam popping out his wings to take flight and watch their perimeter. They didn’t need any surprises flying in while they were exposed like this. “Tony, maybe we should..” “Don’t wanna hear it Romanov, I think we can handle some booby traps.” And Nat just shook her head. Maybe she’d end up having to pay Clint after all. She knew the smart move was to call in some backup, and maybe if they alerted him now, Vis could make it there to help in case things went completely south. But his ego was a lil too pumped up to see that. Tony was making another pass around the compound, just about to fire his canons up to take out the southwest corner where Friday had picked up a gun, when another unwelcome noise entered the air. And he looked down to see a large ramp opening up in the grass. A dozen agents rushing out of it towards Clint, and Nat. “Ya Tony I’m gonna have to agree with her..” Sam’s voice echoed in his ears. “This is ramping up fast, and we don’t want to be playing catch up.. I think it’s time to make a call.” Dodging a blast from the gun Tony hadn’t taken out. And his canons fired on it then, blasting that Southwest corner to Hell as he started to realize the best move. “I’m not so sure Vis can get here in time though.. even he doesn’t move that fast.” Tony was full on eye rolling at this point, knowing exactly what he was saying. “So what, we just pray?” Clint snipped, loosing an arrow towards the oncoming agents. “Maybe pray to the Gods..” And Tony’s eyes were now in the back of his head at Romanov’s thinly veiled comment. He knew what they were getting at. The rest of the team may be back at the compound, but they had some pretty heavy hitters not too far away. Heavy sigh. “Ya why not. It’s just a stones throw across the Black Sea right? We’ll probably be done before they even get here, but if it makes you sleep better at night.” He flew back to another corner, following Friday’s instructions towards a suspected power source. “Fine, sending the jet..” .................... Stena was already getting the coffee started by the time their footsteps started down the stairs. 'A few minutes of confused looks seems about right..' Thump, thump, thump, sounding through the house as their combined weight practically shook it. And she found herself smiling again. They rounded the corner just as she set three mugs and plates down on the table, motioning for them to follow suit as she turned back to the kitchen. That smile still on full blast for them as they took their seats. All they could see was her back as she made breakfast, but she could feel their gaze burning a hole in her as their questions burned a hole in their metaphorical pockets. Fragments of their thoughts floating to her through their connection in the form of feelings, energy.. 'What was that?' '..just stood there in the hall.' 'Feel these weird moments..' 'Who should start the sex talk?' They heard her snicker under her breath, not quite understanding yet, and she chose to have a little fun. Keep things light this time around as she took a deep breath, and answered it all at once. "To answer your questions, or at least the ones you're practically yelling out to me from inside.." Smirking over her shoulder at them. "I was standing like a weirdo in the hall because I realized that small connection I'd forged between us last night was still there, and found it funny how we all left our rooms with similar thoughts.. how many eggs would you like?" Their quick glances to each other not amounting to much as they just stammered something out. "Erm, three?" "Six.." "Ya I'd actually rather six too.." "Alrighty then, a soldier's dozen coming right up." She winked and grabbed another carton from the fridge as she went on. "Where'd I leave off? Right.. These strange moments you feel, as if your feelings aren't really your own, but someone else's.." "Yes! That's what it's like." Thor bellowed out. Satisfied to finally have it put in words. "Well they are someone else's. One of ours. Though, usually mine probably since I'm more used to this. It's a weak connection honestly, but only cuz I wasn't really trying to make it last, just show you something in the moment. If that makes sense? I could forge a much stronger one if I tried, and you wanted. Unbreakable even.." She cracked the last egg into the pan as she tossed the carton in the trash. "And as for how our, unique relationship, might work on a more intimate level, I've thought of it just the same as you two. So yes, I have ideas, and yes, we can talk about it whenever you two feel comfortable." She moved gracefully across the kitchen floor. Her floral robe fluttering out around her as she brought the coffee to them, pouring three cups as she felt their eyes move up her naked legs. Chuckling a little at the obvious emotions coming off of them, she turned back to the counter for the cream and sugar. "Don't worry, I didn't forget how you each take it.." To say the men felt a little taken back, would be an understatement. Considering the beaurocratic nature of their work, they weren't really used to being spoken to so, plainly. No hidden agenda. Making them wish all espionage agencies, or kingdoms, could adopt such an easy practice. She'd spoke her mind, relieving them of the pressure to initiate the conversation, and now she was pouring their coffee exactly how they liked it.. ‘Was she actually perfect?’ And she chuckled again. "Let me guess," Steve spoke out with just a hint of sarcasm, "you could feel what I was just thinking.." She gave him a warm smile, a hint of her own sarcasm as she answered. "Well I wouldn't say I'm perfect.. but I appreciate the sentiment." "Unbelievable.." The men mumbled out simultaneously as she raised her eyebrows at their synchronicity. Amused by her sweet men, but also amazed by how well they always seemed to take everything.. "Oh?" Thor spoke it like a question. "Were you maybe thinking about how wonderful we were?" Making them both laugh as he wiggled his eyebrows at her. And she got up to fetch their breakfast, bringing the pan full of bacon and eggs to the table. "You boys catch on pretty quick." They ate their breakfast with a full feeling in their chests. Satisfied with the easy, honest start to their day, and only moved to speak again when their stomachs were full too. Stena had tried to clear the table, but Thor beat her to it. Motioning for them to stay seated as he wiped up, then brought the rest of the coffee back with him. Even going so far as to top up their cups as they all basked in the easy warmth of one another's company. "So, are we going to have the, how did one of you think it, ‘sex talk’?" She tried one of Thor's suggestive eyebrow wiggles, and Steve nearly choked on his coffee. Even Odinson sputtering a bit as he tried to take a sip. "Of course we don't have to.." She tried to soften her approach to make it more palatable. "And I understand if it's not the right time for you two. The last thing I want to do is rush anyone, and have it come back to haunt us down the line.. I just thought if you wanted to. I feel so, mm, I don't know, open right now.." The men exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Was this really the same woman who, only yesterday, was so bottled up she didn't even want to tell them her age? And now here she sits. Lounging in her sleep wear, calm, and comfortable as can be as she brought up their sex lives. They didn't need the faint connection to know the other was feeling the same surprise. Thor tried to take advantage of the connection to see how Steve felt about her words. Thinking back to his earlier thoughts on patience, as he wondered how 'open' Steve would really be to that kind of discussion right now. Also not wanting to push things as she’d said. But he came up empty in his attempts to sense something from the man, instead having to settle for the look on his face. Which happened to be the same understanding expression he always seemed to bear. 'Always so damned polite..' The God cursed. "Stena, if it's what you want.. of course, we can talk about it." Roger’s kind tone looking to reassure her. And Thor was sure that both he, and Stena, were feeling the same frustration at his unwavering courtesy. "But it's not just about what I want, Steve.. it's about all of us together, and each of us individually. And I don't want to push anyone.." Whenever she spoke, her words always found that simple wisdom, Thor thought. And looked to see Steve's reaction to them, but once again, the man gave nothing away. Even Stena looked to gauge his reaction, and while she was sure he didn't mean to withhold his true feelings, she also didn't want to hear them until he was ready to offer them on his own. Without prodding. "How about.. okay, I'm going to just be very honest. Embaressingly so.." She continued, a new approach coming to her along with a warm feeling, as she fought against her own reservations -and nervous laughter- to speak freely. "I feel that, well, you are both just such wonderful men." Their faces full of surprise, clearly not expecting the blatant compliment. "Truly I.. I've said before how I never thought I'd meet a mate, so the thought of two was, frightening. Even for me. Hell, just mankind in general can be so frightening to me.. But the two of you. I know we've only just met really. But you make me feel foolish for ever having let those fears take hold." The regularly modest men blinked at her words. Still having a hard time accepting her compliments at first, but she smiled at the blush that touched both their cheeks. "Well you may be over selling us just a bit.." Steve offered with a smile. Relieving her nervous tension as she stopped worrying about how they would respond to her raw honesty. "I agree..” Thor mumbled into his coffee cup. Attempting sip number two. "Your modesty is wonderful." She chuckled. "But I'm saying all this for a reason.. I really do appreciate what a gift the two of you are. And I never want to be anything but completely honest, and respectful of you both. So I thought I'll just say some of my thoughts on our future relationship, and that can be that. No need to launch into a big discussion or force the subject. Just, here's my initial thoughts, and then we can go on with life. Digest them until the next person decides to share." She was happy to see them both nod along as she spoke. "Because honestly, being as I’m the only woman, and you're both unfailingly kind.. You're probably very interested in what I think, but to polite to push it." The looked at each other a little sheepishly at having been called out, but didn't argue it. "I like this." Thor approved. "Say whatever’s on your mind." "Yeah, honestly, go for it. Whatever you're comfortable with." Thor and Stena both cocked an eyebrow at Steve's lighthearted agreement. Surprised, but pleased by the pep in his voice, and it really gave her the confidence she needed to press on. "Okay," she started with a smile, "well the main points for me is that everyone be happy, and comfortable. So if there's something someone doesn't want to do, or just isn't ready for, we all be patient. But that person also has to communicate it." The men nodded along. "And I feel I should be upfront in that I am a very open person, who has lived a very long time, and through some very open periods in time.. so don't be afraid to mention something. Chances are I've seen it before at some Roman, party.." Steve blushed and dropped his head a bit at that comment, but she saw the laugh that came with it, and joined in as she continued. "And I would like to have my own space somewhere, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a whole bedroom. A den to sit and read in would do, just somewhere I can be alone when I need it.. Not that I need constant space from you two! it actually wouldn't bother me if we shared a bedroom even.." The men didn't give much away in reactions, just listened on. "Although, I understand that's different for you two since you probably don't see as much of a romantic side to your relationship with one another.. so I'll be fine with whatever you two decided." Thor smirked at Steve, probably overflowing with jokes to try and redden the man's face. "Yes I'd say we've cemented more of a brotherly bond, haven't we Captain?" Steve nodding along, thankful the man stopped there. "But that's not to say I won't hold you if you ever have a nightmare.." And there it was. "Thank you Thor, I'll remember that." Their combined laughs keeping the dinner table light and warm, when a foreign sound interrupted them. Ding, Ding, Ding Their heads all turned towards the noise. Coming from upstairs? “That’s the phone..” Steve muttered. Barely managing to mumble the words out as he more thought out loud, rising from his chair to move towards the stairs. Thor and Stena stayed put, sharing a look of curious concern as they wondered what could make the Avengers feel the need to get in touch with him. His heavy footsteps bounded up the stairs to his bag, and they listened for his voice as he answered. “Tony?” He drifted his way back down to them as he put the call on speaker.. “Ya how’s it going Capsicle? Point Break with you?” And they were all sure they heard a loud bang in the background.. “Yes.” Thor answered. “Stark where are you?” More gunfire joining the background noise on his end. “Uh, not too far away actually.. ran into a bit of a pickle though.” Bang, bang! “Argh, so as much as I hate to admit it, we could use a little help from you two. The jet will be there in a few.” They could hear Sam’s voice in the background, ‘Stark come on..’ and Tony rushed off the call. “Gotta go kiddos. Don’t let me down.” The three of them sharing a quick look before Stena made the first move. Pushing her chair back as she stood with purpose. “I know what you’re thinking. He made a pretty big point of emphasizing the ‘you two.’ But if you think I’m the type to let you go just to leave me behind to worry..” She made a face as they tried to hold back smirks. “So I’ll go get some clothes on.” “Do you have a suit or something you can wear?” “Anything with some protection?” She looked back from the stairs with a grin. “Men, I used to fight half-naked back in the day.. You know what the Spartan’s used to wear? Just like that. So trust me, I don’t need any extra protection.” They couldn’t help but keep their minds from wandering at the thought of that, the image of their nearly naked soulmate charging into battle causing more than a small stirring within them. Because while they both knew bringing her along would bring with it some issues with certain members, they also couldn’t wait to see her in full action. “I guess we better suit up..” Steve spoke with a raised eyebrow. Unsure of what was to come, but starting to admit to himself at least, that he was more than a little excited to see it. 

....................

Steve had expected the flight to be more tense. What with them bringing Stena on an Avengers mission -something neither she nor Tony were fond of- nevermind that the only experience the three of them had fighting together was nearly blowing themselves up. It was all very foreign territory.  
Yet here they were literally jetting towards a fight, and it was as if nothing could be more normal. Each of them had just slid into their default mode, which for all of them, was soldier, and focused on the mission at hand. A couple questions here or there about location, which team members were there, base intel.. but that was it. Just the way hum of three well oiled machines working together. 

"What are these dots here?" Thor motioned towards a screen in the cockpit, drawing Stena's attention as she too looked up for the answer. 

"The red ones are our guys." Rogers answered coolly. "Their communication chips help us differentiate between them and Hydra. Which are all the other blue ones.." Thor looked behind him at Stena, turning his massive frame to give her a better view of the very blue screen. And they shared a smirk at all the fun they were about to have. "Which reminds me.." The Captain went on, pulling a few small pods from some place next to him, and held them out to Thor who took two knowingly and went back to Stena. Sitting across from her as she rummaged through her large duffel. 

"Here." He handed one to her, opening his own to demonstrate. "If you put this in your ear we'll be able to hear the others when we get closer. Which should be very soon." She hesitated, but reached out to accept his offering. She still didn't love feeling like she was just throwing herself into the Avengers, but understood the value of at least this. For now. She huffed as she turned the comm over in her hand, but opted not to dwell too long, and popped it in. Getting her a pleased smile from Thor, maybe just happy to see her making the effort, but it warmed her none the less. But she wasn’t about to seem too eager, and made sure to roll her eyes dramatically. 

"Oh whatever.." She mumbled out. Returning her attention to her mysterious duffel bag as his grin continued.

Rogers' attention had been brought back to the beeping dash, a proximity alert letting them know they were approaching their team. He tapped a couple switches to turn off the distraction, then link their comms, when he thought he heard a sharp tang? And turned to look over his shoulder to see Stena sharpening a rather intimidating blade. Thor watching on in admiration as he looked ready to swoon over her cool intensity, and even Steve had to admit.. 'We didn't get many sword weilding dames in Brooklyn, but I have to say..' 

"Wow." He mumbled out the rest. And could feel Stena's inner smirk through their fuzzy bond. Thor was gearing up for a comment or two of his own, when they were suddenly rocked. A large bang hitting their ears, and shaking the quinjet as they took fire. "Shit!" He spat out as he lurched the jet to the side, avoiding yet another as he cursed himself for even allowing the first one. He had let himself get distracted admiring the strange domestic moment behind him, and now an engine was gone, sending their sputtering jet faltering towards the base. "Hold on guys, I think we're going to have to bail out.." Neither of them argued with him. Just stood up, ready to do whatever needed to be done as they looked out the windshield at the oncoming scene. 

"Are we close enough to jump now?" Thor asked over the now much noisier jet. "I could take Stena down.."

"That might be best.. a couple more minutes and we'll be close enough, it should hold till then..." Steve's plan was fading in her ears. She liked them working together, but they'd now defaulted to 'how can we best ensure her safety.' Which, touching as it was, was also very annoying.  
And she thought they needed a reminder of who the Hell she was. 

"Stena? What are you doing?" Steve's voice sounding almost worried as he watched her push past him to the front. "We can't land this thing anymore." He mumbled out, watching as she ignored the many warning sensors before hitting a few buttons, and adjusted the flight stick. Remarking to herself just how intuitive this jet was to fly as she sent it lurching forward, it's nose pointing straight for the Hydra base. And his eyes widened.

"Aiming it at the bad guys.." She replied casually. Moving back to where she left her sword near Thor, giving him a quick wink as she pulled it up to sheath it on her back. His teeth flashing quickly as a massive grin spread out in response. Just something about a woman with a big sword.. 

"Stena.." Steve's voice cautioned. "We could have people in there." She glanced over her shoulder at him as she hit the button to open the bay doors, motioning up to her ear as she met his gaze with a doubtful look.

"Well then tell them to get out."

The men shared an amused look, Steve trying to come off more responsible but not fully succeeding. She was right after all, the jet had picked them all up outside when they first got on scene, she wasn't just being thoughtless, she was assuming they were being smart and not rushing into a building with compromised intel. They looked back over to her as they felt the wind blow in, one of them ready to make a funny joke, while the other was going to try and suggest another course of action. But they dropped their train of thought, and their jaws, as they watched her step towards the sky, and with one last smirk over her shoulder, jumped out into the open air.

"Did she have one of those parachute things?" Thor bellowed out a little frantically.

"So that's how that feels to watch.." Steve muttered under his breath. Quickly grabbing a chute for her just in case, as the pair flung themselves out after her. 

The ground wasn't too far away, only a few hundred meters now as the jet careened down towards the base, and Stena chose to enjoy the few moments of peace and weightlessness as the air fluttered around her. Tucking herself into a roll as the ground quickly approached, she popped up easily, skidding to a halt. And the first thing she did when the ground quit moving beneath her feet, was to look over her shoulder, searching the sky for the men that would be plummeting after her. Thor landed first with a thud, his cape fanning out around him while Steve rolled out into a similar landing as hers, kicking up dust as he tossed the parachute he'd grabbed for her to the side. Casting her a bit of a disapproving look in the process, while the quinjet whirred loudly above them as it neared it's target. She smiled back at them as they moved towards her, and felt that strong swell of pride in her chest that always seemed to follow them.  
She had to admit, in all the time she'd spent pondering over her potential soulmates in the past, she never could have imagined they'd be so capable. She'd always assumed they'd be the more stereotypical type of mortals, you know, the type who would break a few bones when they jumped from the height of a tall building. Someone who would simply live, and die. Unless she opted to help them with that of course..  
So as she watched the two men descend without a scratch, while a fiery explosion erupted in the background, she couldn't help but feel that sense of pride grow a little larger. 

"That should let them know we're here." She quipped as she moved past them towards the flames. The men watching her walk off so casually towards the impending danger. 

"She's rather impressive you know." Thor mused out loud. 

"Uh huh.." Steve hummed back. Finding it more, and more difficult every day to keep his responsible nature at the forefront when it came to her. Instead, it seemed to be fighting a losing battle against his more curious one, which maybe even be the deeper one. Drawn ever closer to her chaotic energy like a reckless moth to a flame. And he had to smirk at the irony of that. But as he watched her strut so confidently towards danger, he started to understand how rule dangerous she really was. Started to wonder if there was anything she could do that he could ever truly disapprove of, anything he could deny her, or not do for her.. And that felt dangerous. "Come on. We better keep up." 

....................

“Look who’s finally showed up..” Tony snipped as he intercepted another volley of fire from blasting Sam out of the sky. And while he was laying on the sarcasm pretty thick, the others knew he was happy to have the help. He wasn’t thrilled to see their third wheel join the ranks, but thought it was probably better than nothing.. Maybe better than he thought actually as he watched her fight alongside them. Dropping a few agents before they even caught up to her. “Cap, Thor.. Thanks for crashing the jet." He could hear their annoyance even in the silence. "And I see you brought your plus one. Maybe just try to keep her from blowing us all up if you can..” Sam’s snicker coming across the radio as they all returned to the fight.

Mjolnir went flying past Steve’s head, and watched as two unfortunate agents right in front of him collided with it. Not surprisingly, Clint and Nat had done a phenomenal job of holding the field until they got there, Sam still helping thin the herd by picking off the newly emerging agents that spilled out from the ramp. And with Stena already three men down before they even caught up to her, he wondered if they’d really be needed much longer. 

“I feel we may have arrived too late for any proper challenge!” Thor’s voice boomed out from across the field, echoing his own thoughts, and he couldn’t help but smile back.

“Don’t jinx it!”

“Ya, so sorry we had to fight all these guys by ourselves and ruin the fun for you..” Clint scoffed. His face permanently scrunched in sarcastic exhaustion. “And I see you brought a friend..” Everyone looking over from their fight to see Stena swing her sword at an oncoming agent, before ducking down to toss them over her shoulder to the ground. Deadly, but impressive.

“I like her..” Nat smirked back in approval. Loving the viscous focus radiating off of her, and not missing for a second how well Steve seemed to be taking her more, lethal, approach. Was this really the same man who would call them out on their potty-mouths, watching his soulmate run her sword through a man’s chest? ‘Wow..’ Was all she could think. ‘Never thought I’d see the day when the Boy Scout of America could take something like this in stride.’ She shocked an agent with her tasers before bringing him down hard on his face.  
The opening in the ground closed then. Hydra probably being cautious and shutting it up before any Avengers could take advantage and use it to gain access. Sure it wouldn’t have been an easy route in, but it signalled that their fight might be drawing to a close, letting them all know there at least wouldn’t be any more bad guys pouring out of it. A collective sigh washing over them as they started to wind down with their movements. Until Sam interrupted their cool down with some new information..

“Guys I’m getting incoming jets.. looks like we took a little too long, gave Hydra time to catch up.”

“How many Sam?” The Captain’s commanding voice cutting through. 

“I’m picking up three.. four. And they seem to be riding heavy Cap..”

“Well, we’d be disappointed if they brought any less.. Alright. Sam, you and Tony try to take down what you can before they even get to the field. Nat, Clint, I want you to split, keep the stragglers from getting around, and behind us. Stena, you stay with me and Thor on the ground, we’ll take them out as Nat and Clint keep funnelling them in to us.” Stena listened to his orders, and felt a flutter of pride take her over as she felt the strong response everyone had to him. The man commanded more than the team, he commanded their respect.. And she nearly swooned on the battlefield, his heavy-handed tone making it hard for her to fight back the devious smile trying to make its way through, and she ultimately failed, canines bared as she admired the way he took control. He caught her hungry gaze as he turned back to them, and for a moment she thought he might shy away from it, but just the opposite, as he met her glare head on. Giving her his own little smirk as he made his way towards her.  
A loud crash interrupted their moment as one of the jets came hurtling down to the nearby trees, Sam and Tony trying to fight the, not three or four, but five, six jets arriving on the scene. Two seemed to have already made it through, dropping some agents nearer the base, while the bulk were propelled out towards the threesome on the ground. “Ready?” He smirked at them.

“Stevie, I could do this all by myself.. But I suppose it’s good to learn to share.” Stena couldn’t help but tease a little, as Thor whirred his hammer with a chuckle.  
The second act of their fight erupted as they flung themselves at the agents. Enough propelling down from the hovering jets to give them each a solid dozen to keep busy with. ‘Child’s play.’ She thought as she threw her body into a group of Hydra soldiers that hadn’t quite dispersed yet, knocking some down like bowling pins while she spun her sword and fists at anyone nearby left standing. Between her attacks she watched as Steve bounced two men off his shield like they were nothing, while Thor uppercutted a man across the field. ‘Wow.’ She smiled to herself.  
They fought together so well, it was like they’d been fighting with one another for centuries, and they all noticed it. But Steve noticed something else too. As their enemies thinned out on the ground, Tony and Sam were struggling in the sky. 

“Thor..” He called out, motioning up to where Stark was blasting two jets at once while they opened full fire on him. “Use the lightning, we need to get them out of the sky.” And he didn’t waste a second. Sparks already lighting up across his body, and Stena’s breath caught when the flashes of blue took over even his eyes. Feeling like she was getting the chance to sit back and fully appreciate the man’s power as he lit up the sky. Lifting his hammer to bring the lightning down into him, then sending it shooting out towards the jets. The one firing unopposed at Tony, exploding into bits. It gave them the show of force they needed, and everyone felt like it was nearing it’s end, allowing themselves to relax once more. And once more, they regretted letting themselves breath too early, as another sea of agents flooded out from the compound to start another assault. 

“How many are they hiding in there..” Stena muttered under her breath, and she could feel Steve’s concern next to her. Obviously the intel was off, and this lonely little Hydra base was absolutely spilling over with man power. They weren’t going to get their information, let alone out of here alive, if they didn’t make the decision to retreat, and fast. Stena felt the weight of that word weighing on him, and knew she was in the position to do something about it. She just wasn’t so sure how well it would be received by everyone else.. “We can still win this.” She spoke out calmly into the chaos. Turning to her men to gauge their opinions. “Get them to clear out, and let me blow those bastards to Hell. Turn me loose.” She could see their eyes searching hers. Thor of course not needing much convincing, he was practically chomping at the bit to see her tear these men apart, it was Steve’s sensibility -and default to keep the peace- that would hold her back. And she’d decided she’d respect it if that was his decision, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch them retreat.. That was not in her nature. His eyes continued to search hers a moment longer, and nodded in agreement. All three of them feeling the same urge to push on, no retreat in any of them.

“Tony, Sam, get out of there. Nat and Clint, you too..” 

“We’re not giving up Cap!” Tony sounding like he was ready to throw a tantrum at the thought of coming home completely empty handed.

“I agree. We’re not going anywhere.” A confused silence falling on them all as he continued. “Hurry up and get behind us. We’re gonna send Stena in.” He looked over to her, and she handed him her sword before walking out towards the crazy scene. “You’ve got about two minutes..” His words trailing off as they watched her curves swish away from them. Calling back over her shoulder as she picked up the pace. 

“Thor. Light me up big guy.” Winking with a wicked grin as she continued her fast walk. Staying steady as she found her focus, she prepared for the surge of energy as she heard the sky crack above her. Scanning the space ahead of her to make sure everyone was clear before she continued, and she felt an old sense of true battle take her over at the imposing scene. Three jets still hovering as Iron Man and the Falcon pulled away, flying past her to draw the jets in her direction. And as the final members made it safely behind her, Hydra jets and a small army charging towards her while the static of electricity in the air tingled across her skin.. She felt alive. Crying out against the intensity of the lightning as it suddenly flooded into her.

Steve had felt the weight of Stena’s sword grow as he watched her walk into the danger. A part of him wanting to lean in to the overwhelming sense of fear and worry at letting her go out there alone. The sight of Thor erupting with lightning as he brought it down onto her, not making it any easier. She looked so much smaller the further away she got from them.. But as he watched the lightning connect, swirling wildly around her as she took it in, and tamed it. He realized he had to push those thoughts of worry out, and lean in to accepting she was the strongest of them all. He and Thor had a better chance of getting laid out in battle than she did, and he needed to stop worrying, and just support the strength and power she brought. Everyone else looked on in disbelief as Thor sent his lightning out, not to the jets or soldiers, but to her. Lighting her up like nothing they’d ever seen as they all realized she was taking it in. And they were on the edge of their seats as they waited to see what she would do with it. Thor’s every muscle flexed as he poured the electricity into her, not bothering to hold back. He knew she could take it. And there was a proper outlet this time.. So while the others tried to believe what they were seeing, Thor looking like he was trying to tear her apart rather than fuel her, he gave her everything. Wanting her to have all the energy she'd need to absolutely decimate their enemies. When Steve called out to him.

“Thor, cut it!” He practically had to scream over the deafening cracks of electricity. And the sparks receded into him as his eyes slowly returned to their normal blue grey. The attention all on Stena now as she buckled at the pressure of all the power she was holding in, trying to keep ahold of it. The jets closing in as she finally rose up. Exploding with a flash of golden light as her battle cries echoed out. Filling every space in front of her with blinding light and screams as she moved forward. Looking like a Sun Goddess as she tore apart everything in her path. The jets wavering like a shockwave had hit them before the metal was flying off in all directions. Crashing down to the soldiers below as every single one of them gradually disintegrated into shreds and dust along with the metal jets. It only took her a few minutes to wipe the Earth before them clean, but to those looking on it felt like time stood still. Especially for a certain two. Thor and Steve were both wound so tight as they watched on. Excitement pulsing through them with every scream, and blast of her power as she devastated everything in front of her. But nerves too keeping them on edge as they waited for the aftermath. They’d seen this once before, and while not on this level, they knew to expect a near comatose Stena by the end. And the thought of her lying unconscious in the field so far away from them was already stressing them out.. It was something the others weren’t used to seeing, both her display of power, and the men’s worry, and they watched in awe. Jaws dropped as Stena did exactly what she said she would and blew them all to Hell. She could probably blow the whole damn compound up if she really wanted to.. But the way the two normally stoic soldiers watched on was just as jarring. Some seeing only their admiration, others -mainly Nat- noticing the way they hovered on the sidelines. Like tightly wound springs waiting to pounce. And she wondered what they were waiting on..  
One final scream rang out into the messy air as the golden hue spreading out from her began to recede back. Like her spent body was getting to suck back what little she had left before collapsing to the ground, naked? And it was like releasing the hounds as Steve and Thor launched themselves forward.

“Tony, and Sam, get back in the air and check for any stragglers.” Steve barked as he bounded forward. “The rest of you, start making your way over there. See if there really is anything worthwhile here..” And they all jumped into action too, eager to finish the mission and get the Hell out of there. They glanced over to where Stena lay motionless, and wondered how concerned they should be. Steve casting them all an instinctive glare as he cautioned them to keep their eyes to themselves while Thor unclasped his cape. Shrouding her in the red fabric as delicately as he could as they both crouched around her protectively. Steve brushing her dark hair back from her face, needing to do anything, and they couldn’t help but feel a pang in their chests at seeing her so limp, so vulnerable.. Thor looked back at him with a pained expression, clearly wanting to rush her away from here, and Steve nodded in agreement putting a hand to his ear to call out on the comms. “Tony, how long til your backup jet gets here?”

“Backup? Why, what ever do you mean?” Dripping his words in sarcasm. “You think they just grow on trees or something?”

“No.” Steve sighed, not in the mood for any back and forth. “But I think we all know you had another coming when you sent that last one to us.. So I’ll ask again, how long? We need to get her out of here.” 

“Any minute Cap..” He nodded along. Satisfied she’d be out of here soon, somewhere safe.. 

“Stay with her Thor, I’ll go finish this, make sure it ends well. But the minute that jet gets here you get her on it. Hopefully we’ll be right behind you..” He lingered a moment longer on her quiet face, olive skin showing the sheen of sweat that gave away just how much energy she’d expended. And he struggled to pull away from the woman. But he knew he still needed to be their leader too, and felt heavy as he left to finish what Tony’d started. Confident at least that she was safe with Thor, and as he ran towards the compound, he felt some of that heaviness lift as he thought about how strange it was to be thankful for another man to have his arms around her. Strange, but comforting. And he found himself leaning a lot more in to that.

....................


End file.
